Moscow: Tibet is "an inseparable part of China" and the problems Beijing is facing due to protests by ethnic Tibetans in Lhasa is an "internal affair" of the country, Russia has said.

"Russia has said many times that it views Tibet as an inseparable part of China and believes that the settlement of relations with the Dalai Lama is an internal affair of the People's Republic of China," the Russian foreign ministry said in a statement.

Russia hopes the Chinese government will take the necessary steps to ensure normalisation in the Chinese autonomous region, it said.

The ministry also denounced the politicisation of the 2008 summer Olympic games in China, Russia's Interfax news agency reported.

"We would like to stress that any attempt to politicise the Olympic Games 2008 is unacceptable," said the ministry's Information and Press Department.

"Russia is confident that China will be able to ensure that the games are organised at the highest level, including the provision of security for the athletes and the guests of the Olympics," it added.

The riot in Lhasa last Friday caused heavy losses of life and property, and seriously disturbed social order, according to the head of Tibet Autonomous Regional Government.

Thirteen civilians were burned or stabbed to death, Qiangba Puncog, chairman of Tibet Autonomous Regional Government, told reporters in Beijing on Monday.

The unrest was "organised" and "premeditated" by the Dalai Lama clique, he said.

Source : IANS