Dalai Lama stirs political pot before meeting Canadian PM

Tibet's exiled spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama, stoked a row with China over his first ever talks with a Canadian prime minister, saying he was ready to talk politics.

Prime Minister Paul Martin, who has insisted the meeting is a spiritual and not a political affair in a bid to limit diplomatic fallout with Beijing, meanwhile faced charges of kowtowing to China over the agenda of the talks.

China, which has occupied Tibet since 1951, brands the Dalai Lama a separatist and has condemned Canada over the meeting.

As controversy swirled, the Dalai Lama meanwhile told reporters he would be happy to talk politics if Martin wanted to.

"Is your prime minister more interested in spirituality than politics? I don't know," said the Dalai Lama.

"It is my duty to express (explain) the situation."

"My visit, generally speaking (is) non-political," he said, but added that discussions on Tibet's plight did not fall into the "spiritual" realm.

"That part, maybe (has) some political implication," he said.

In the House of Commons, Martin faced charges from the leader of the main opposition Conservative Party, Stephen Harper, of kowtowing to China.

He asked Martin why he had "allowed China to dictate the terms of his own conversations with the Dalai Lama."

Martin shot back: "As the prime minister of Canada, I will decide who I will meet with and who I will not meet with. I will decide where I will meet with them and I will also decide the subjects that I want to address with them."

Martin pointed out that he was the first prime minister of Canada ever to have agreed to meet with the exiled Buddhist leader.

Harper said he and other opposition leaders met the Dalai Lama on Thursday and had "discussed a variety of topics, not just spiritual matters, but also political and human rights concerns in Tibet and China."

The Dalai Lama repeated his call Thursday for more autonomy for Tibet from Beijing, despite China's claims he is a separatist who wants independence.

"We are not seeking separation (from China); we are not seeking independence," he said.

He said a dialogue between his supporters and Beijing which opened two years ago was "a good start ... any human contact should be resolved with talks, not violence."

Asked when he might be able to return to Tibet, the Dalai Lama said: "I am not sure. Maybe within a few months."

The Dalai Lama arrived in Ottawa Wednesday after visiting Vancouver, and will travel onto Toronto for the final leg of his cross-Canada tour next week.

The Dalai Lama fled Tibet after an abortive uprising in 1959 and established a government-in-exile in the northern Indian town of Dharamsala.

China has been accused of trying to wipe out Tibet's Buddhist-based culture through political and religious repression and a flood of ethnic Chinese immigration.