"We cannot understand the position of the Russian side on the visit of the Dalai Lama. We hope that the Russian side will strictly abide by the principled position on relevant political agreements between the two sides," Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Zhang Qiyue told reporters while reacting to the Dalai Lama's ongoing visit to Russia.

"The Dalai Lama is not an ordinary religious figure, but a political figure in exile conducting splittist activities under the cloak of religion," she said adding that Beijing opposes visits by the Dalai Lama in any form to countries which has diplomatic relations with China.

In the past, Moscow had denied entry to the Dalai under pressure from Beijing, causing irritation in the Buddhist community living in Kalmykia and Siberia.

However, Russia turned around and granted him a visa last week. Reports from Moscow say the Dalai Lama started his first visit to the southern province since 1992 on Monday, when he made a tour of Russia's Buddhist regions that also included Buryatia and Tyva in Siberia.

Beijing views the 69-year-old Nobel Peace Prize winner as a "splittist," who travels around the globe and colludes with "anti-China" forces to split Tibet from rest of China.