Terje Rød-Larsen, the former Norwegian diplomat who helped broker the Oslo Accords, is set to issue a public apology for his ties to the late American financier Jeffrey Epstein. The mea culpa comes in a documentary broadcast by Norwegian public broadcaster NRK on Wednesday evening.
Rød-Larsen and his wife, fellow diplomat Mona Juul, are both under investigation in Norway. Juul is being probed for aggravated corruption, while Rød-Larsen faces allegations of complicity in the same offence. The couple played pivotal roles in the secret Israeli-Palestinian talks that produced the Oslo Accords in the early 1990s.
Norwegian police are examining a loan from Epstein, his involvement in the couple's purchase of an Oslo apartment at below market value, a 2011 trip to Epstein's private island, and payments for home help services for Rød-Larsen. The couple deny any wrongdoing.
In his will, Epstein left $10 million (€8.7 million) to the couple's two children. One of them, a 25-year-old, took his own life in April.
"I deeply regret today the relationship I had with Epstein," Rød-Larsen told NRK in the documentary. "I should have cut all ties with him earlier," he added.
The apology comes after documents released by the US Department of Justice in late January revealed sustained contacts between Rød-Larsen and Epstein up until 2019, the year Epstein died in jail while awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges. Epstein had already been convicted in 2008 of recruiting a minor for prostitution.
Rød-Larsen, now in poor health after two strokes, has justified his dealings with Epstein by pointing to the intermediary and donor roles the financier played. At the time, from 2005 to 2020, Rød-Larsen headed the International Peace Institute (IPI) think tank in New York.
Wider fallout in Norway
The Epstein affair has implicated several other prominent Norwegians, including Queen Mette-Marit and former prime minister Thorbjørn Jagland, who later chaired the Norwegian Nobel Committee, which selects the Nobel Peace Prize winners. The scandal has prompted Norway's parliament to launch a scrutiny procedure and set up an independent commission.
Next week, the parliament's committee on constitutional affairs will question Foreign Minister Espen Barth Eide and all his predecessors since 2005, including Jonas Gahr Støre, who has since become prime minister. This political reckoning echoes broader European concerns about transparency and accountability in public life, much like the Hungarian expulsion of Russian diplomats earlier this year, which highlighted the delicate balance between diplomatic ties and national security.
The case also raises questions about the intersection of diplomacy and private finance, a theme that resonates across the continent. As European institutions grapple with ethical standards, the Norwegian investigation serves as a reminder of the need for vigilance. Meanwhile, the EU's focus on seizing the AI opportunity underscores the broader challenges of maintaining integrity in a rapidly changing world.
The documentary is expected to air at 20:00 CET on NRK1. It remains to be seen whether Rød-Larsen's apology will satisfy the Norwegian public and the judicial system, but it marks a significant moment in the ongoing fallout from the Epstein scandal in Europe.
