DHARAMSHALA, January 8: The United States have once again urged the Chinese leadership to engage in direct and substantive discussion with the Tibetan spiritual leader His Holiness the Dalai Lama without any preconditions as it believed “that all people in the PRC would benefit from the fruits of dialogue and urge the Chinese Government to seize the opportunity to further engage with the Dalai Lama.”

Responding to a question on reports of exchange of emissaries between the Dalai Lama and the Chinese government during a regular press briefing, the US State Department spokesperson Jen Paski said, “…We’ve long encouraged the Chinese Government to hold direct and substantive discussions with the Dalai Lama or his representatives without preconditions aimed at resolving differences,” said US State Department Spokesperson Jen Psaki during Daily Press Briefing on Wednesday.

The comment by the State Department came a day after the conclusion of the 27th Task Force meeting on Negotiation here in Dharamshala, seat of the Tibetan government in exile, which is officially known as the Central Tibetan Administration.

The two-day meeting, held discussions on the political developments in China, issues relating to the future of dialogue with the Chinese leadership and on developments in the international political landscape.

Tibetan Prime Minister Dr Lobsang Sangay, who chaired the two day meeting, reiterated his administration’s commitment to resolving the issue of Tibet through dialogue with the chinese leadership.

The last round of talks between the Envoys of the Dalai Lama and representatives from China’s United Front Work Department, the Communist party organ that oversees issues concerning ethnic minorities, took place five years ago in January 2010. Since then, China has refused to meet with the Tibetan representatives.

In May 2012, the two Envoys of the Dalai Lama, who had led nine rounds of talks with China since 2002, resigned citing the deteriorating situation inside Tibet and their “utter frustration” over the lack of positive response from China.

Phayul,January 08, 2015