US President Barack Obama Meets Dalai Lama Friday Feb 21,2014

US President Barack Obama held low-key talks with the Dalai Lama at the White House on Friday Feb 21,2014after warnings from Beijing that the meeting with the exiled Tibetan spiritual leader would "seriously damage" ties with Washington.

It was the third time Obama had met the Dalai Lama, who the White House calls "an internationally respected religious and cultural leader." Previous meetings were in February 2010 and July 2011.

The private meeting lasted about an hour, although the Dalai Lama, a Nobel Peace Prize laureate, was not seen by White House photographers as he entered or exited the complex

In what appeared to be a small concession to the Chinese, the visit was held in the White House Map Room, a historically important room but of less significance than the more prestigious Oval Office, where he normally meets visiting leaders.

China calls the Dalai Lama, who fled to India after a failed uprising in 1959, a "wolf in sheep's clothing" who seeks to use violent methods to establish an independent Tibet

Human rights groups say China tramples on the rights of Tibetans and enforces its rule using brutal methods