Russia's MFA rejects Dalai Lama's visit to Kalmykian Buddhists

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) of Russia has again rejected the entry visa to Dalai Lama XIV, spiritual leader of Buddhists. This was reported by Shadzhin Lama (Supreme Lama) of Kalmykia Talo Tulku Rinpoche at his regular quarterly press conference for republic's mass media. Buddhists had earlier stated that they would perceive such refusal as violation of their rights.

"This year we've made eight invitations to His Holiness and his accompanying persons," Mr Rinpoche said. "However, for some reason all of them were ignored."

"The answer to these letters was an official refusal of Russian authorities to the requests of Russian Buddhists to issue an entry visa to Dalai Lama. The letter from the MFA addressed to Shadzhin Lama came on April 7; it was signed by A. Kulikov, deputy head of the Ministry's first department for Asia," as Vladimir Kenzeev, press secretary of Khurul "Gold Monastery of Buddha Shakyamuni", told the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent.

Shadzhin-Lama expressed his regret to journalists and said that "the people of Kalmykia should know about it."

According to the press service of the "Gold Monastery of Buddha Shakyamuni", the MFA's letter of refusal says that the Russian authorities "treat with understanding" the Buddhists' aspiration to promote their spiritual leader's arrival to Russia. At the same time, the MFA draws attention to the fact that "even the pastoral visit to our country of the international religious leader, whose activity also has political aspects, cannot be exclusively internal matter of the Russian Federation."

"Possible consequences of Dalai Lama's arrival to Russia should be considered with account of the respective foreign policy background and in the context of ensuring the whole complex of Russian interests. We also proceed from the fact that visiting Russia by Dalai Lama could be especially painfully perceived by Beijing in this jubilee year of our common victory with China in World War II," the letter notes.

With the account of the aforesaid, the MFA believes it "expedient to get back to the issue of the possible Dalai Lama's pastoral visit to Russia later, first of all, along with appearance of evidences of decrease of tension in his relations with the authorities of the Peoples Republic of China."