(Telecompaper) Telenor's chairman Svein Aaser has resigned, effective immediately, following a disagreement with the company's largest shareholder, the Norwegian state. Aaser has served as chairman of Telenor since May 2012. Aaser said in a statement that he had "different views on the handling of the VimpelCom issue" than the Norwegian ministry responsible for managing the Telenor stake. Telenor recently announced that it plans to sell its minority stake in Russia-based Vimpelcom. Aaser said he assessed his own position as part of the review of Telenor's ownership in Vimpelcom. ""VimpelCom has been under investigation for several years, and this has been challenging for Telenor," Aaser said. "I would like to emphasize that it is VimpelCom that is under investigation and that Telenor has fully cooperated with investigating authorities as a witness. The company continues to await the outcome of the investigation."