Warsaw - Poland's former trade union leader Lech Walesa said Friday it was the "height of insolence" for China to call off a meeting with the European Union over French President Nicolas Sarkozy's plans to meet the Dalai Lama in Poland. The Tibetan spiritual leader plans to meet Sarkozy on December 6 during a celebration in Gdansk that marks the 25th anniversary of Walesa receiving the Nobel Peace Prize.
"I'm at the least insulted by China's behavior," Walesa said. "This is the height of insolence. Who can tell me who I can talk to, who I can invite?"
The former Polish president warned China about "acting in such a way" because they were "forcing the whole world into a confrontation," reported the Polish Press Agency.
Beijing canceled Monday's planned EU-China summit in Lyon, France, and cited as the reason Sarkozy's meeting with the Dalai Lama.
Sarkozy, who holds the EU's rotating presidency, still plans to meet the Tibetan spiritual leader.
Walesa received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1983 for his leadership in strikes by the Solidarity trade union, which helped peacefully topple the communist regime in Poland.
The 25th anniversary celebration will include other participants such as European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso, and Nobel Peace Prize laureates South Africa's FW de Klerk and Israel's Shimon Peres.
