Tusk Can Only Hope

Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said Friday he would be "honored" to meet the Dalai Lama during the his visit to Poland next weekend. "If the opportunity presents itself, I would be most honored 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 honor.

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.