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Polish premier would be 'honoured' to meet Dalai Lama

AFP

Poland’s Prime Minister Donald Tusk gives a press conference in October 2008. Tusk said on Friday he would be “honoured” to meet the Dalai Lama during the latter’s visit to Poland to attend the 25th anniversary of Lech Walesa’s Nobel Peace Prize on 6 December.AFP/Dominique Faget/Poland

Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said Friday he would be “honoured” to meet the Dalai Lama during the latter’s visit to Poland next weekend.

“If the opportunity presents itself, I would be most honoured to meet the Dalai Lama,” Tusk told reporters. “The situation in Tibet constitutes, from a European point of view, a major obstacle to normal relations with China,” he added.

The Tibetan spiritual leader has been invited, alongside other past recipients of the Nobel Peace Prize, to a ceremony in northern Gdansk marking 25 years since Solidarity icon Lech Walesa was awarded the honour.

French President Nicolas Sarkozy has insisted he will meet the Dalai Lama in Poland on December 6.

In response, China decided to scrap a summit with the European Union scheduled for next week in France, which Chinese Prime Minister Wen Jiabao had been due to attend.

In Poland, Sarkozy will be meeting with nine prime ministers from eastern and central Europe to discuss economic and climate initiatives.

The Dalai Lama is also due to visit the Czech Republic and Belgium, where he is scheduled to address the European Parliament in Brussels on Thursday.

Copyright © 2008 Agence France-Presse

Published in EUBusiness.com