The national security adviser to the Slovak prime minister has resigned after documents released by the US showed he exchanged messages about girls and diplomacy with Jeffrey Epstein.
Prime Minister Robert Fico announced that he had accepted Miroslav Lajcak's departure on Saturday, describing the advisor as "an extraordinary source of experience in diplomacy and foreign policy."
His resignation came a day after the US Department of Justice released three million files related to the influential financier.
And now there is a statement from Lajcak himself, reports Telegrafi, in an interview with public broadcaster Rádio Slovensko.
"I honestly don't remember those messages," the Slovakian diplomat was quoted as saying, referring to the exchanges involving the girls.
"I can't confirm them, but I can't deny them either."
After reading the messages again, he added that he felt "like an idiot," they write. foreign media, the Telegraph reports.
"But that doesn't absolve me of responsibility," he said. "I showed poor judgment and inappropriate communication. Those messages were nothing more than stupid male ego..."
Lajcak explained that he arrived in New York in 2017 to take up a one-year post at the United Nations and was introduced to Jeffrey Epstein by a senior foreign diplomat.
According to Lajcak, Epstein was widely known and met with numerous business and political figures from the US and abroad.
Lajcak said he saw no reason not to meet him, arguing that establishing contacts was part of his job.
He said he later became aware of Epstein's 2008 conviction for a sex offense, but noted that many influential figures continued to associate with him afterward.
This, he emphasized, made him believe that he had no problem doing the same thing.
He also confirmed that he had visited Epstein's apartment, but said other business and political figures were present. "There were no girls," he insisted.
Otherwise, Lajcak was appointed by the Council of the European Union on April 2, 2020 as Special Representative for the Kosovo-Pristina Dialogue, while he left last year to be replaced by the Dane, Peter Sorensen. /Telegrafi/
