France`s Sarkozy To Meet Dalai Lama In Poland

Western leaders have had to tread carefully in meeting the the 73-year-old Nobel Peace laureate, whom China regards as a secessionist.

French President Nicolas Sarkozy said on Thursday he would meet the Dalai Lama in Poland in December, ending months of speculation over whether the politically sensitive meeting would go ahead.

The exiled Tibetan spiritual leader visited France in August but did not meet Sarkozy during his two-week stay, which coincided with the Beijing Games.

Critics accused Sarkozy of caving into pressure from China over the issue, and there were further question marks after an expected return trip by the Dalai Lama to France in December was cancelled.

However, Sarkozy said the two men would finally meet in Poland next month, when celebrations will be held for the 25th anniversary of the award of the Nobel Prize to former Solidarity leader Lech Walesa. "The Dalai Lama is a man of quality, a profoundly respectable man whom I will have the opportunity to see in Poland on Dec. 6," Sarkozy said at a prize-giving ceremony.

The president's office said earlier this month that poor health had prevented the Dalai Lama's planned December visit, although French media suggested that he had been disappointed by Sarkozy's attitude during his last stay in August.

Western leaders have had to tread carefully in meeting the the 73-year-old Nobel Peace laureate, whom China regards as a secessionist.

He was hospitalised with abdominal pain in August and underwent gallstone surgery last month in the northern Indian hill town of Dharamsala.

China took over Tibet in 1950 and the Dalai Lama fled into exile in 1959 after an abortive uprising against Chinese rule. He has since lived in India, travelling the world to promote his cause, and is still widely revered in his homeland.