Sunday Times 2
Obama, Dalai Lama due to attend US prayer event Feb. 5
View(s):WASHINGTON, Jan 30 (Reuters) – U.S. President Barack Obama and the Dalai Lama are scheduled to attend the U.S. National Prayer Breakfast in Washington next week, but it was unclear if they will have a private meeting like one last year that angered Beijing.
The White House said Obama would deliver remarks at the Feb. 5 event about the importance of upholding religious freedom, and that the organisers had also invited the Dalai Lama. A congressional aide said the Tibetan spiritual leader had confirmed his attendance.
Asked if there was any plan for a private meeting with the Dalai Lama, White House spokeswoman Bernadette Meehan said: “As he has done in the past, the President will see many religious leaders at the event, but we don’t have any specific meeting with the Dalai Lama to announce.”
Obama held low-key talks with the Dalai Lama in Washington last February and the meeting greatly angered Beijing, which had warned that it would damage ties.