Tibet talks: China says two sides 'sharply divided'

China said on Tuesday after talks with envoys of the Tibetan spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama, that the two sides remained "sharply divided" on the status of the Himalayan region.

China said on Tuesday after talks with envoys of the Tibetan spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama, that the two sides remained "sharply divided" on the status of the Himalayan region.

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"As in previous rounds of negotiations, the positions of the two sides are sharply divided," Zhu Weiqun, executive vice minister of the Communist Party body that handles contact with the Dalai Lama, told a news conference.

The comments came after the first talks between the two sides in more than a year, which wrapped up at the weekend. The envoys of the Dalai Lama returned to their exile base in India on Monday.