ByEuronews
Published on
Slovakia’s former national security adviser Miroslav Lajčák, who resigned over his messages with the late financier and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, has said he feels like a “fool” after rereading them.
Lajčák left his position on Saturday after newly released US documents relating to Epstein showed the pair had exchanged messages about women and diplomacy.
Lajčák — an ex-foreign minister and international diplomat — said in a statement on Friday that he was resigning to avoid causing any political damage to Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico. He denied any wrongdoing and condemned Epstein’s crimes.
Fico announced in a Facebook video message that he had accepted the decision, calling Lajčák “an incredible source of experience in diplomacy and foreign policy”.
Speaking to Radio Slovakia late on Monday, Lajčák said: “When I read those messages today, I feel like a fool.”
Texts from October 2018 — when Lajčák was Slovakia’s foreign minister — show him and Epstein joking about women and an upcoming meeting with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov.
In the exchange, Lajčák asks Epstein: “Why don’t you invite me for these games? I would take the ‘MI’ girl.”
“Who wouldn’t,” Epstein replies. “You can have them both, I am not possessive. And their sisters.”
Lajčák told Radio Slovakia that he had shown “poor judgment and inappropriate communication”.
“Those messages were nothing more than foolish male egos in action, self-satisfied male banter,” he said. “There were no girls… the fact that someone is communicating with a sexual predator does not make him a sexual predator.”
In the interview, Lajčák said he had viewed Epstein as a “valuable contact that could open a lot of doors”.
According to local media, Lajčák initially denied messaging Epstein about women when the documents were released on Friday and said he could not “confirm or deny the authenticity of the texts” given the length of time that had passed.
A veteran of Slovak politics, having served in four governments, Lajčák was also president of the United Nations General Assembly from 2017 to 2018 and the EU envoy for Kosovo and Serbia from 2020 until 2025.
Lajčák also served as the High Representative for Bosnia and Herzegovina from 2007 to 2009 — a top international peace mediation office he left to take Slovakia’s foreign minister post.
During his tenure as the High Representative, Bosnia signed its Stabilization and Association Agreement with the European Union.
Additional sources • AP