Zeman would not meet Dalai Lama if elected president

Miloš Zeman says he would not meet the Dalai Lama if he were elected Czech president in a vote that takes place on Friday and Saturday. In a debate with his opponent Karel Schwarzenberg held by the think tank European Values on Tuesday, Mr. Zeman said he would only meet the Tibetan spiritual leader if he himself were a religious leader, or if the Dalai Lama was a big investor. For his part, Mr. Schwarzenberg said his rival’s position was an acceptance of Chinese propaganda. While the late Václav Havel repeatedly met the Tibetan spiritual leader, his successor as president, Václav Klaus, has consistently refused to meet him since he was prime minister in the 1990s.