Bush still considers Putin a friend despite ongoing US-Russian tensions, the US leader said in a recent television with news channel CNN. At the same time, he said admonishing the Russian president in public on matters of concern such as democracy and human rights would be counterproductive.

"No leader likes to be scolded publicly," Bush said according to the Associated Press. "The people I deal with, you know, share the same emotions that you would share if somebody were to scold you and then say, I'm going to come and now I want to sit down and talk to you."

Bush will meet with Putin on July 15-16 for a Group of Eight (G8) gathering of the world's leading industrial nations in the Russian leader's hometown St. Petersburg, Russia. The summit comes at a time of harsh exchanges between US and Russian officials, including US Vice President Dick Cheney's comments in May that Putin was bullying Russia's neighbors with energy sources and hurting the domestic development of democracy.

More recently, Russia has opposed a UN Security Council resolution backed by the United States that would impose sanctions on North Korea for its missile tests. But Bush said he has a good relationship with Putin despite all of the disagreements. "I don't understand some of the decisions he's made, but my relationship is such that I'm able to express that concern and listen carefully as to why he does what he does," he said in the CNN interview.

When Bush first met Putin in June 2001, the religious Texan said he was able to gain "a sense of his soul." Asked in the interview if he still has that feeling, Bush said: "I know him well, yes, I do."

Bush likely has some sympathy for Putin, since the US president has been subjected to public criticism in recent years like few other leaders ever have. He will likely face a barrage of ire during a visit to Germany  over everything from Washington's apparent unilateral tendencies to the security costs of his trip before he heads onward to the G8 summit.