The Russian Foreign Ministry Once Again Declined the Request of Kalmykia’s Buddhists to Arrange a Visit by His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama

Earlier, as part of the preparations for the anniversary events marking the 15th anniversary of the republic’s Central Khurul, the Association of Buddhists of Kalmykia sent a letter to the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs asking for assistance in arranging a visit by His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama to Kalmykia. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs emphasized that it understands the desire to facilitate the arrival of the Buddhist leader in Russia; however, to date this issue remains open. That said, the Ministry does not rule out the possibility of a visit by the Dalai Lama in the foreseeable future. The senior administrator of the Central Khurul of Kalmykia, Yonten Gelong, is confident that the issue of arranging the 14th Dalai Lama’s visit to our country could be resolved through negotiations between Russia and China with the participation of Russian Buddhists. “We would like the question of the pressing need for the Dalai Lama’s visit to Russia to become, in the very near future, a subject of discussion between the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation and the People’s Republic of China. And we want to take part in such negotiations in order to convince the leadership of China that the Dalai Lama poses no threat to its territorial integrity, and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation that receiving the Dalai Lama is our constitutional right,” RIA Novosti quotes Yonten Gelong as saying. According to him, the believers of Kalmykia hope for a visit by the 14th Dalai Lama after the coronavirus pandemic. The Dalai Lama himself has already expressed his readiness to visit Kalmykia, the clergyman added.