NEW DELHI, MAY 2: Two months after violence broke out in the Tibetan region, the Dalai Lama and Chinese leadership are getting ready for talks in a bid to find a peaceful resolution of the Tibetan issue.

Two envoys of the Dalai Lama, Lodi Gyaltsen Gyari and Kelsang Gyaltsen, are reaching China on Saturday to begin what would be the seventh round of talks between the two sides since 2002.

“During this brief visit, the envoys will take up the urgent issue of the current crisis in the Tibetan areas. They will convey His Holiness the Dalai Lama’s deep concerns about the Chinese authorities’ handling of the situation and also provide suggestions to bring peace to the region,” said a statement posted on the Dalai Lama's website.

The talks come in the wake of widespread clashes between Tibetans and the Chinese soldiers in Lhasa and elsewhere in the region, in which Tibetans claim that hundreds have been killed. The Tibetan protest against Chinese crackdown spilled over the Olympic torch relay which was disrupted at a number of places, most famously in London and Paris.

Friday’s statement, however, did not specify when or where the talks were going to start, or how long would these continue.

The Tibetan Government in exile, based in India, demands autonomy for the Tibetan region, which Beijing considers an inalienable part of China.

The two sides have already held six rounds of talks between 2002 and 2007 with the last round happening during June-July last year. Nothing much has been achieved in these talks so far with both sides sticking to their stated positions. The two envoys going for fresh talks with the Chinese have been present in the earlier rounds as well.

An aide of Dalai Lama told The Indian Express that the Tibetan side remained hopeful about the outcome of this fresh round of talks. “We hope that the Chinese side will address the issues in a realistic manner and accept that a majority of the Tibetans harbour resentment towards the treatment meted out to them by the Government in Beijing,”

said Tenzin Taklha. “We are hopeful that the talks would lead us towards finding a meaningful and just resolution of the Tibetan issue.”