India ? The Dalai Lama said Saturday he welcomed China’s offer to hold talks with his envoy but cautioned it would be meaningless to meet if Beijing were not serious about trying to solve the problems that caused recent unrest in Tibet.

But just as it appeared China was reaching out to the Tibetan spiritual leader, Beijing’s state media on Saturday blamed him for the deadly violence in the Tibetan capital that threatens to overshadow this summer’s Olympics.

The Dalai Lama, who lives in exile in Dharmsala, India, said the two sides needed to talk seriously about how to resolve the problems that triggered the riots in the Tibetan capital last month.

“We have to explore the causes of the problems and seek solution through talks,” the Tibetan spiritual leader said a day after China said it would meet his envoy.

He said he has yet to receive detailed information about the offer but stressed that talks would be good.

“We need to have serious talks about how to reduce the Tibetan resentment within Tibet,” he said.