French President Nicolas Sarkozy likes President Obama. Like really likes him. Or so it would seem when the two leaders met on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly today. In fact, Sarkozy dedicated the bulk of his remarks to reporters before the meeting to praising his American counterpart.

“It’s actually easy to work with Barack Obama,” Sarkozy said through an interpreter. “Whatever the crisis we’ve faced together, whatever the initiatives we have taken jointly, on every single occasion, we have found a listening, open-minded attitude on the part of our friend Barack Obama. And in particular, when tackling the crisis which is still upon us today, the leadership that President Obama has shown and shown at the time have been of special value to us all.”

For his part, President Obama, who spoke first, called Sarkozy “a friend as well as a colleague,” and thanked him for his leadership on the international response to the conflict in Libya and for his solidarity with the American people.

The French leader praised Obama’s “boldness,” “courage,” and “intelligence.”

“I liked him before his election, I liked him once he was elected, and I especially appreciate him now when the tough times are upon us,” Sarkozy gushed.

He went on:

“There’s one thing I want to say perhaps on a more personal note, and that I really mean from the bottom of my heart. When things are as tough as they are right now, when the going gets as tough as it is right now, it is especially precious and important to be able to speak what is the world’s number one power, to someone who listens, someone who is sensitive to others, someone who is respectful and aware of other people’s red lines and prepared to take them into account, especially at a time when as I said we are facing such difficulties and we really need together to go forward.”