“His Holiness the Dalai Lama is scheduled to travel to the United States for medical treatment on his knees. Upon his return, regular engagements will resume,” his office said in a statement.
It did not mention when he would return to Dharamsala, a town in the northern Indian Himalayas where he lives in a compound next to a temple ringed by green hills and snow-capped mountains.
02:34
Dalai Lama back in the public eye after ‘suck my tongue’ video controversy
Dalai Lama back in the public eye after ‘suck my tongue’ video controversy
The Nobel Peace Prize winner has worked for decades to draw global support for linguistic and cultural autonomy in his remote, mountainous homeland.
He has met US officials, including US presidents, in previous US visits, but Washington did not confirm whether any meetings were set for the June trip.
“While there is long-standing precedent for meetings between US officials and respected religious figures, including the Dalai Lama, we do not have anything to confirm at this time,” a US State Department spokesperson told Reuters.
Any such engagement would raise hackles in Beijing at a time when the US and China have sought to stabilise rocky ties.
The Atlantic magazine said the Dalai Lama’s visit to the US would follow one to Dharamsala to see the spiritual leader later this month by congresswoman Nancy Pelosi, as part of a congressional delegation.
Pelosi’s spokesman, Ian Krager, declined to comment on Pelosi’s “upcoming or potential foreign travel”, citing security reasons.
Chinese embassy spokesman Liu Pengyu said China “firmly opposes any anti-China separatist activities conducted by Dalai in any capacity or name in any country, and opposes any forms of contact by officials of any country with him”.