Washington: Expressing concerns over Beijing's harsh crackdown in Tibet, US President George W Bush has asked his Chinese counterpart to re-open dialogue with the representatives of the Dalai Lama to solve the crisis.

"President Bush telephoned President Hu Jintao of China today. The President raised his concerns about the situation in Tibet and encouraged the Chinese government to engage in substantive dialogue with the Dalai Lama's representatives and to allow access for journalists and diplomats," a statement by the White House said yesterday.

"... The President pushed very hard on the need to -- concern about violence in Tibet, the need for restraint, the need for consultation with representatives of the Dalai Lama. As you know, there have been consultations between Chinese authorities and representatives of the Dalai Lama in the past," National Security Advisor Stephen Hadley said.

"Those have been suspended. The President urged that those be restored as part of a process for Chinese authorities to addressing, reaching out to and addressing the grievance of the people in Tibet" Hadley said in a briefing.

Hadley said, "I thought it was interesting that President Hu said that the government was willing to continue contacts in consultation with the Dalai Lama as long as -- and, again, as he said, there's an abandonment of Tibetan independence and stopping activities that involved crimes and the use of violence. And of course, as you know, the Dalai Lama has been very public in his views on both the issue of independence and the use of violence" the top White House official added.

Source : PTI