Don't blame us for meet cancellation in India: China

China on Friday said it cannot be blamed for the cancellation of a tripartite meet between the Foreign Ministers of India, China and Russia after Beijing reportedly refused to take part in the meeting over the Dalai Lama's visit to Arunachal Pradesh.

"About the meeting that was to be held last month, as far as I know the reason is not in China," Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Geng Shuang said, insinuating that the visit of the Dalai Lama to Arunachal Pradesh was the reason behind Foreign Minister Wang Yi not attending the meet.

According to a news report, China did not send Wang to attend the trilateral meet in April in India after New Delhi allowed the Tibetan spiritual leader to visit Arunachal Pradesh in April.

The Dalai Lama's visit to Arunachal angered Beijing, which considers the Tibetan Buddhist leader a separatist and claims India's northeastern state as its own.

The meeting on April 14, to be hosted by India's Foreign Minister Sushma Swaraj, was cancelled after China told India that Wang had a busy schedule.

"About the Russia, India and China Foreign Ministers meeting, China pays attention to the trilateral cooperation mechanism. We have actively participated in the Foreign Ministers meeting and also other activities under the framework," Geng said.

"According to my information, three countries are now talking about the schedule of the next Foreign Ministers meeting. They are maintaining communication and consultation," Geng said.

(Gaurav Sharma is the IANS Beijing-based correspondent. He can be contacted at sharmagaurav71@gmail.com and gauravians@yahoo.com)

--IANS

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