Aug. 11 (Bloomberg) -- President George W. Bush said the U.S. condemns the Russian bombings that have led to an escalation of the conflict over the South Ossetian region of Georgia.

The president spoke to Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin twice on Aug. 8 in Beijing, telling Putin the ``violence is unacceptable,'' Bush said in an interview in Beijing with NBC News.

``I expressed my grave concern about the disproportionate response of Russia, and that we strongly condemn bombing outside of South Ossetia,'' Bush told NBC.

Bush, who is in Beijing attending sporting events at the Olympic Games, told NBC's Bob Costas that it was ``interesting to me that here we are, trying to promote peace and harmony, and we're witnessing a conflict take place.''

Bush returns to the U.S. today after a weeklong trip that took him to Seoul, Bangkok and Beijing. Yesterday he met with Chinese President Hu Jintao.

Bush said that future presidents need to ``understand the relationship between China and the region, and it is important to make sure that America is engaged with China.''

Bush also pushed China for the fifth time in as many days to allow more religious freedom, telling NBC that ``if you are a religious person, you understand that once religion takes hold, it can't be stopped.''

Yesterday Bush attended services at a Chinese church north of Beijing's Forbidden City and urged Hu to allow more religious freedoms.

To contact the reporter on this story: To contact the reporters on this story: Michael Forsythe in Beijing at

Last Updated: August 10, 2008 23:38 EDT