Washington: The United States has not received a letter from China warning it against attending the Nobel awards ceremony for new peace laureate Liu Xiaobo, State Department spokesman Mark Tone has said.
"As is traditional in these cases, I believe our ambassador to Norway would attend the Nobel ceremony... but we have not received any letter," he told reporters on Friday.
A press spokeswoman for the US embassy in Oslo had earlier announced that the US ambassador would attend the December 10 ceremony in the Norwegian capital of Oslo.
Diplomatic sources told a news agency on Friday that China has warned other countries against attending the ceremony, in the latest sign of Beijing`s irritation at the Norwegian Nobel Committee`s pick this year.
The decision last month to award the prize to Liu, a veteran Chinese dissident currently serving an 11-year prison sentence for subversion against the state, is seen by China has as tantamount to "encouraging crime" and an interference in its internal affairs.
With Liu Xiaobo in prison and his wife Liu Xia under house arrest, the Nobel Institute is still trying to decide who should accept the prize at the ceremony.
PTI
