what a friggin non shocker

STOCKHOLM, May 2 (Xinhua) -- U.S. President George Bush has declined to meet Norwegian Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg at the White House, said reports reaching here from Oslo on Tuesday.

Bush's staff would not arrange the meeting because of the Norwegian left-center coalition government's criticism of the war in Iraq, and Finance Minister Kristin Halvorsen's support for a boycott of Israeli products, according to Norwegian Broadcasting (NRK).

Jan Petersen, who was Norway's foreign minister in the last center-right government, told NRK that he feared a phone conversation Stoltenberg had with Bush shortly after last fall's election put a damper on relations between the United States and Norway.

In the conversation, Stoltenberg told Bush that he would order the withdrawal of Norwegian officers from Iraq.

Janne Haaland Matlary, a professor at the University of Oslo, said her sources also indicate that Norway no longer is part of the "inner circle" at NATO.

Foreign Minister Jonas Gahr Stoere on the other hand said in a comment that Norway's relations with the United States remain good and close.

Stoere told NRK that he was not aware that a request for a meeting with Bush was denied. He maintained that the United States continued to be an important ally for Norway, while White House officials claimed Norway also was an important ally for the United States. Enditem