Pope Benedict XVI Meets with President Bush at Vatican

The Telegraph.co.uk reports that after the G8 Summit in Heiligendamm, President George Bush stopped in Poland before going to Rome to meet for the first time with the 80-year old Pope Benedict XVI at the Vatican. The topics of discussion were Bush's talk with Russian President Putin, the war in Iraq, and the US monetary commitment to fight against AIDS in Africa.

Bush encountered thousand of anti-war demonstrators who were countered by a force of 10,000 security guards. Additional thousands of Rome police were deployed in response to anti-globalization groups and far-left parties demonstrating against Bush's talks with the Vatican and Italian officials.

Demonstrators were supporters of the Pope's opinion on the war in Iraq. As the Telegraph reports, the Vatican's preference for "the worrying situation in Iraq" is for a "regional and negotiated" solution. The Vatican's preference applies to Iraq specifically and to conflicts in the Middle East generally. The Vatican is put at odds with Bush who's policy in Iraq is for non-regional intervention in conflict. The Pontiff expressed particular concern for the Christian community in Iraq.

Pope Benedict also inquired into the success of Bush's meeting with Russian President Putin while both leaders were at the recently ended G8 summit in Heiligendamm. As the Telegraph reports, before replying, Bush looked at the reporters who were just being escorted out then said, "I'll tell you in a moment."

Blair and Putin had a very tense meeting at Heiligendamm, which Putin postponed until the last day of the G8 summit. They had a mutually unsatisfactory conversation about Bush's plans for a defensive shield, Kosovo, and Western investment in Russia.

It is reported that Putin exerted earnest effort to smooth over difference in his meeting with Bush. Putin suggested locating the planned defense shield in Azerbaijan instead of Poland. This is after England's Tony Blair told Putin that Western investments in Russia would be pulled if Putin persisted in his threats of aiming nuclear weapons at the West in response to the development of a European based defense shield.

The Telegraph reports that in Bush's conversations with Pope Benedict, he assured the Pontiff that he has a "very strong AIDS initiative" and that he would put forward an effort to attain Congressional approval of $30 billion to go to Africa for its battle against AIDS.

At the G8 summit, Canada's and Italy's prime ministers, Stephen Harper and Romano Prodi, were singled out as impediments to raising more money pledged to go to Africa's AIDS problem. The G8 was accused by protesters Bob Geldorf and Bono of being farcical and less than serious in its efforts to help Africa. Even so, Blair was optimistic about the progress made toward helping Africa. And Germany's Chancellor Angela Merkel, who chaired the G8 summit said that realistic objectives had been achieved.

On this last leg of Bush's European tour, he met with both the Italian President Giorgio Napolitano and Prime Minister Romano Prodi. The Italian Catholic lay community Sant'Egidio supports the fight against AIDS under a program called Drug Resource Enhancement Against AIDS and Malnutrition, or DREAM.

Staff and Agencies, Telegraph.co.uk. "Middle East dominates Bush's Italy Talks." URL: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2007/06/09/wpope109.xml article