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Russia has refused to issue a visa to the Dalai Lama because a visit by Tibet's spiritual leader would violate agreements between Moscow and Beijing, the foreign ministry said in a statement on Tuesday.

The Dalai Lama greets the crowd as he arrives to conduct a free lecture in New York's Central Park, Sunday Sept. 21, 2003. The exiled Tibetan Buddhist leader was in New York for the last stop of a five-city tour. (AP Photo/Mary Altaffer)

Tens of thousands of people flooded into New York's Central Park for a free public lecture by Tibet's exiled spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama. The lecture, one of the highlights of the Dalai Lama's ongoing US tour, had all the trappings of an open-air rock concert

The Dalai Lama gestures while responding to questions during a news interview Sunday Sept. 21, 2003 in New York. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)

The Dalai Lama called war "legalized violence" and said Sunday he wished he had visited Iraq and pushed for a better dialogue between countries before the war started in an effort to avert it.

Giant TV screens helped the Dalai Lama convey his message of peace to the Central Park audience. (Barbara Alper for The New York Times)

Truth seekers, loyal subjects, peace lovers and the merely curious blanketed the East Meadow in Central Park yesterday to receive the Dalai Lama's persistent message of compassion and nonviolence.

The Jokhang Temple, one of Tibetan Buddhism's most sacred sites, has endured theological feuds, political upheaval and widespread destruction at the hands of ax-wielding communist Red Guards.

The Sixth session of the 13th Assembly of the Tibetan People's Deputies on Friday met for its concluding session. The Assembly passed several bills on various issues during the ten-day session.

Crowds gather in Central Park's East Meadow to hear the Dalai Lama speak, Sunday, Sept. 21, 2003, in New York. The exiled Tibetan Buddhist leader was in New York for the last stop of a five-city tour. Photo by Joan K. Rosen Click for more photos