Dalai issue should not hurt ties: Czech envoy

The Czech Republic, which holds the rotating European Union (EU) presidency, hopes the Dalai Lama issue will not disrupt Sino-EU relations in the near future, its ambassador to Beijing said yesterday.

"We understand that this (the Dalai Lama issue) is an extremely sensitive matter ... so in our acts during the presidency we shall act according to these feelings," Vitezslav Grepl said at a news conference.

He said he did not expect his government's leaders to meet the Dalai Lama in the Czech Republic while it holds the EU presidency.