Russia has said it will not allow the Dalai Lama, Tibet's exiled spiritual leader, to visit the country for fear of offending China.
The Dalai Lama had planned to travel to Russia in September for his first visit in 10 years. He fled his native Tibet in 1959 following a failed uprising against Chinese rule and has since lived in northern India.
"In examining this issue, we naturally have to take into account the position of China, whose government regards the political activities of the Dalai Lama very negatively," the Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement.
The statement added that there would be members of the Tibetan government-in-exile in the Dalai Lama's entourage and that the proposed visit would be of a political, as well as a religious, nature.
"Taking into account all these circumstances, it is considered advisable at this point to refrain from allowing the Dalai Lama to visit Russia," it said.
Damba Ayusheyev, the leader of Russia's Buddhists, said religious devotees would mount a protest outside the Foreign Ministry if the Dalai Lama was not allowed to visit Russia. AFP