China and Dalai Lama Talking Again, Sarkozy Says He May Attend Games

French president Nicolas Sarkozy said Monday he might attend the opening ceremony of the Beijing Olympics if talks announced Sunday between the Chinese government and representatives of the Dalai Lama make progress.

“If there was continued progress and if the Dalai Lama and the Chinese president acknowledged the progress, then the obstacle to my participation would be lifted,” Sarkozy said on French television, Monday night.

He said the situation in Tibet is “not acceptable” but added, “We absolutely must not push a population of 1.3 billion people into wounded nationalism.”

After the March riots in Tibet and the government crackdown that followed, Sarkozy said he might boycott the opening of the Games.