NYIMU COUNTY (China), April 25: China is to hold talks with envoys of the Dalai Lama, the spiritual leader of the Tibetan Buddhists whom it blames for a wave of unrest, state media reported on Friday. The move marks the first serious step to defuse tensions over unrest in Tibet.

“In view of the requests repeatedly made by the Dalai side for resuming talks, the relevant department of the central government will have contact and consultation with the Dalai’s private representative in the coming days,” the official Xinhua news agency quoted an unnamed official as saying.

An envoy to the Dalai Lama said on Friday he had received notice of China’s offer to hold talks with representatives of the Dalai Lama. “We have been told verbally, through private channels, that a meeting has been proposed,” Dalai Lama envoy Kelsang Gyaltsen told Germany’s Deutsche Welle broadcaster.

“We neither know the date, the location, nor the topics that must be addressed at the meeting,” he added, speaking in German.

Washington welcomed the announcement of talks. —Reuters