Beijing ? China agreed Friday to meet an envoy of the Dalai Lama, Tibet’s spiritual leader, bending to rising calls for talks after weeks of anti-government protests by his supporters that threatened to tarnish the Beijing Olympics.

The development came as the Olympic flame is wrapping up the international portion of its global torch relay – a journey that has seen large demonstrations in the past month in the West and elsewhere against China’s rule in Tibet.

The communist government’s statement stops well short of restarting actual negotiations on what the exiled Tibetan characterizes as alleged cultural and religious repression in his homeland.

It also restates long-established preconditions for negotiations, including that the Dalai Lama unambiguously recognize Tibet as a part of China. Their reappearance and the timing of Friday’s announcement could forestall any immediate breakthroughs.