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Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama has said that Europe has taken in too many refugees, and that they should eventually return to help rebuild their home countries.

"From a moral point of view, too, I think that the refugees should only be admitted temporarily," the Dalai Lama told reporters at Dharamsala, the seat of the exiled Tibetan government in northern India.

According to AFP, who quoted an interview that the monk gave with German newspaper Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, the 80-year-old holy man also said that, "Europe, for example Germany, cannot become an Arab country," followed by a chuckle.

"Germany is Germany. There are so many that in practice it becomes difficult," he continued.

Last year, Germany led the way in accommodating people fleeing war when it took in 1.1 million people from Syria, Afghanistan and Iraq among others.

Although some may view the Tibetan monk's views as a somewhat pragmatic assessment of the situation, there are fears that such comments could fuel far-right sentiments that are currently brewing in Europe.

	Among the dead from last week's tragedy was an infant [Sea-Watch]

Last week, Slovakian Prime Minister Robert Fico sparked controversy when he said that Islam "has no place in Slovakia", marking the latest development in rightward shift that has occurred among many European leaders this year.

The Dalai Lama's words also come after a week which saw the tragic deaths of 350 people who died after their wooden boat capsized off the Libyan coast. Among the dead was an infant, whose death has eerily echoed that of three-year-old Aylan Kurdi last year.

As a refugee himself, the Dalai Lama also expressed his hope that he could one day return to Tibet, where he has been exiled from since 1959.

"Maybe in a few years," said the Buddhist leader. "If an opportunity for my return arises, or at least for a short visit, that would be a source of great joy."