Vatican City - President George W. Bush said on Saturday he felt "awe" in the presence of Pope Benedict, a fellow religious conservative who urged him to seek "regional and negotiated" solutions to Middle East conflicts like Iraq.
"I was talking to a very smart, loving man," Bush said of his first talks with Benedict since he became Pope in 2005.
"After 6-1/2 years of being a president ... I've been to some unusual places and met some interesting people and I was in awe," Bush told a news conference in Rome. "It was a moving experience for me."
Addressing the 80-year-old Roman Catholic leader as "sir" instead of the usual honorific "Your Holiness", Bush heard the Pope's concerns about the Middle East and the plight of Christians in Iraq.
Bush told him of his government's efforts to combat AIDS and malaria in Africa and hunger and poverty.
He told the Pope before reporters about what he called "the very strong AIDS initiative" at the Group of Eight summit this week, which pledged $60 billion to fight diseases ravaging Africa -- although much of that was made up of existing pledges.
A Vatican statement said Benedict and Bush had discussed the Middle East and the Holy See's "hope for a regional and negotiated solution to the conflicts that afflict that region".
"It's good to be with you, sir," Bush said as he sat before the Pontiff's private desk in the Vatican.
The two men see eye-to-eye on ethical issues like abortion and euthanasia but differ on the war in Iraq, which Benedict's predecessor, John Paul II, tried hard to avert.
When the Pope mentioned Bush had come from the G8 summit, Bush said: "I did -- your old country -- and it was successful ... A lot of different opinions, but it was good."
Asked if his dialogue with Russian President Vladimir Putin, closely watched because of a number of sharp disagreements between Russia and the West, had been good, Bush responded with a smile as reporters were being ushered out of the room.
"I'll tell you in a minute," he said.