Obama meets with Dalai Lama at White House

WASHINGTON -- President Barack Obama met with the Dalai Lama for about 45 minutes at the White House on Saturday, potentially angering China, which called for the meeting to be canceled.

"The president reiterated his strong support for the preservation of the unique religious, cultural, and linguistic traditions of Tibet and the Tibetan people throughout the world," White House spokesman Jay Carney said after the meeting. "He underscored the importance of the protection of human rights of Tibetans in China. The president commended the Dalai Lama's commitment to nonviolence and dialogue with China."

China, which accuses the Dalai Lama of being a separatist who supports the use of violence to set up an independent Tibet, said it opposed any meeting between the exiled Tibetan spiritual leader and foreign officials.

The Nobel Prize laureate denies China's accusations, saying he wants a peaceful transition to autonomy for the remote Himalayan region, which China has ruled with an iron fist since 1950.

Obama's meeting came at an extra sensitive moment for China, the United States' biggest creditor, with leaders in Washington at odds over how to raise the $14.3 trillion U.S. debt ceiling in time to avoid default.

Obama reiterated in the meeting that the United States did not support independence for Tibet but "encourages direct dialogue to resolve long-standing differences," Carney said. -- Reuters