Bono met with Russian President Dmitry Medvedev ahead of the U2 concert due in Moscow on August 25 at the presidential summer residence in the Black Sea resort city of Sochi.
Bono met with Russian President Dmitry Medvedev ahead of the U2 concert due in Moscow on August 25 at the presidential summer residence in the Black Sea resort city of Sochi.
Bono said he had arrived in Russia like a student, saying he had a lot to learn about Russia.
Bono also told the Russian president that they have some differences in taste since Medvedev is a Deep Purple fan and Bono is a Led Zeppelin fan.
Medvedev also promised Bono he will support the leader of U2 in his efforts to fight HIV/AIDS.
Bono told the Russian president that the problem of transferring the infection from mother to child can be solved and asked Medvedev to recommend Russian companies, which could help in working on the issue.
"This social activity you are engaged in, you and your colleagues, gets great respect from people," Medvedev said. "You do important things because taking care of people is not only a matter of politics," he continued.
"Each of us should actually contribute into, as it seems, very complex problems of health, the fight against poverty, cleaning up the aftermaths of crises," the Russian leader said. "And the fact that you are actively engaged in this, I think, is cool."
Medvedev also took Bono for a ride in an electric car.
Medvedev and Bono riding in an electric car at the presidential summer residence in Sochi
After the conversation, Medvedev and Bono took a stroll along the Black Sea coast.
