Culture minister denies making commitment with regard to Dalai Lama

Culture Minister Daniel Herman has denied having made any commitment to refrain from official contacts with the Dalai Lama. In a statement for Czech Television the culture minister rejected a claim by Foreign Minister Lubomír Zaorálek that he had violated the terms of an unwritten agreement reached in the cabinet which opened the way for a strategic partnership with China. Mr. Zaorálek said the violation of the terms of the deal had led the country’s senior officials to sign a declaration assuring China that the Czech Republic fully respected the country’s territorial integrity and saying that the Tibetan spiritual leader’s presence in the Czech Republic did not signal a change in the country’s foreign policy in relations with China. Mr. Herman said he had never made such a commitment since it would go against his conscience.