Vienna - Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama met with Austrian Chancellor Alfred Gusenbauer on Thursday, triggering expressions of protest from Beijing, which claimed the meeting was an act of interference in Chinese domestic affairs. On Sunday, the Dalai Lama will be received by German Chancellor Angela Merkel, marking the first official meeting between the exiled Tibetan leader and a German head of government.
The Austrian chancellor's office said Gusenbauer and the Dalai Lama met for about 45 minutes on Thursday morning. Gusenbauer received the Dalai Lama as a religious leader, but not as a Tibetan politician, the office pointed out.
Rejecting the Chinese criticism, Gusenbauer stressed on Austrian TV: "It has to be clear: Vienna and Austria are places of dialogue."
The Dalai Lama had been in Austria since Monday, participating in a think-tank meeting near Vienna.
