Sarkozy to blame for summit delay

French President Nicolas Sarkozy's reckless plan to meet with the Dalai Lama has forced Beijing to take the unprecedented decision of delaying a summit with European leaders, the Foreign Ministry said yesterday.

"In China we have a saying: 'Whoever causes the problem should solve the problem.' It is not China that caused the present situation," the ministry's spokesman Qin Gang told reporters at a news briefing.

On Wednesday, Beijing decided to delay the 11th Sino-EU Summit scheduled for Monday in France, which holds the rotating EU presidency. Paris announced earlier that Sarkozy would meet with the Dalai Lama at a Dec 6 ceremony in Poland to honor former Solidarity leader Lech Walesa.