NEW DELHI, MARCH 27 : Chinese Ambassador Zhang Yan on Thursday met Union Home Minister Shivraj Patil and sought an assurance that Tibetan pro-independence protestors would be kept at bay when the Olympic torch passes through India after it reaches here on April 17.

The 30-minute meeting between Patil and Zhang came even as Tibetan exiles continued their freedom march from Dharamshala to New Delhi. The two are also learnt to have discussed the steps being taken to secure the Chinese Embassy here. The Embassy had been stormed by Tibetan protestors last week.

China has been apprehensive that protestors would try their best to embarrass it over the Tibet issue and has warned that the Olympic torch could even skip the Indian leg if its security concerns were not addressed. National Security Advisor M K Narayanan has already said that all steps would be taken to ensure a safe passage for the torch across India.

After protestors stormed the embassy last week, China had let its displeasure be known by summoning Indian Ambassador to China Nirupama Rao well past midnight to apprise her of their concerns on the issue.

On Thursday, however, both sides sought to downplay the issue, with Zhang telling reporters before the meeting that the media was making it out to be a big deal. The Home Ministry, on its part, described the meeting as a “courtesy call”.

The Ambassador expressed “appreciation for the steps taken by the Government of India to provide protection to the Chinese diplomatic and consular premises and various measures taken by the Government in this context,” a Home Ministry statement said after the meeting. Patil is learnt to have assured Zhang that the Government could continue to cooperate in this regard.