Officials: Nordic leaders photo wasn’t meant to troll Trump

Nordic Prime Ministers, from left, Stefan Lofven of Sweden, Lars Lokke Rasmussen of Denmark, Erna Solberg of Norway, Juha Sipila of Finland and Bjarni Benediktsson of Iceland hold their hands on a soccer ball during a meeting in Bergen, Norway, Monday, May 29 2017. A Norwegian official say five Nordic prime ministers who posed for a photo clutching a soccer ball weren’t intending to make fun of a viral image from U.S. President Donald Trump’s trip to Saudi Arabia. (Marit Hommedal / NTB scanpix via AP)

COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AP) — A Norwegian official say five Nordic prime ministers who posed for a photo clutching a soccer ball weren’t intending to make fun of a viral image from U.S. President Donald Trump’s trip to Saudi Arabia.

Norwegian government official Sigbjoern Aanes says the photo taken Monday at a meeting of regional government heads in Norway was meant to promote U.N. sustainability goals, which were written on the soccer ball.

He says Norwegian Prime Minister Erna Solberg only later realized that the photo was reminiscent of the one of Trump at the opening of a counterterrorism center in Saudi Arabia earlier this month. Trump, the Saudi king and the president of Egypt gathered around a lighted orb.

Solberg posted a montage of the two photos on her Facebook page with a note about sustainability.