NEW YORK

Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama arrived in New York City on Sunday for medical treatment.

Hundreds of his supporters welcomed him earlier as his private jet landed at Teterboro Airport in New Jersey.

It is unclear whether he will hold official meetings while he is here.

His press office previously announced his trip to the US for knee surgery.

Former Speaker of the US House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi and a congressional delegation met him in India on June 19, despite calls from China for no contact.

The Tibet Plateau, known as the "roof of the world," covers an area of around 2.5 million square kilometers (965,255 square miles) with an average elevation of roughly 14,370 feet (4,380 meters) above sea level.

In 1951, China established sovereignty over Tibet through the 17-Point Agreement, calling it a "peaceful liberation."

After a failed uprising against Chinese rule in 1959, the Dalai Lama fled to Dharamsala in northern India, where he set up the Tibetan parliament and government in exile.

China does not recognize this government, claiming that Tibet has been part of China since the 13th century, while the Dalai Lama claims that Tibet was an entirely independent state when the Chinese People's Liberation Army entered.

*Writing by Gizem Nisa Cebi from Istanbul