Warsaw -­ Polish President Lech Kaczynski held a private meeting with the Dalai Lama Wednesday, the IAR news service reported.

The Dalai Lama has been in Poland since last week and has already held meetings with former president Lech Walesa. He is also scheduled to meet with the head of the Polish parliament. A week ago, the spiritual leader of Tibet met with French President Nicolas Sarkozy, prompting protests from Beijing.

China, which claims Tibet as part of its territory, generally frowns upon foreign leaders meeting with the Dalai Lama, whom many Tibetans see as a symbol of national independence. The Dalai Lama, 73, fled Tibet after an abortive uprising against China in 1969 to set up the Tibetan government-in-exile in Dharamasala, northern India. (dpa)