Norwegian diplomat who mediated Oslo Accords quits over Epstein ties

OSLO, Norway — Norway’s foreign ministry says a prominent ambassador and key Oslo Accords mediator, Mona Juul, would step down due to a “serious failure of judgement” over ties to late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, part of a growing scandal in the Nordic country and across Europe.

The ministry earlier this week suspended Juul from her position as ambassador to Jordan and Iraq pending an internal inquiry into links to Epstein found in a massive set of files released by the United States government.

“Juul’s contact with convicted sex offender Epstein has shown a serious failure of judgment. The case makes it difficult to rebuild the trust that the role requires,” Norway’s Foreign Minister Espen Barth Eide says in a statement.

Juul, 66, a former junior government minister, previously represented Norway as ambassador to Israel, Britain, and at the United Nations.

The foreign ministry said it had also initiated a review of its former grants to the International Peace Institute (IPI), a New York think tank headed by Juul’s husband Terje Roed-Larsen, until 2020.

Roed-Larsen, 78, who briefly served as a cabinet minister in 1996 under then-Prime Minister Thorbjoern Jagland, has several times apologized for his connection to Epstein.

“The National Audit Office has already investigated this several years ago, but Terje Roed-Larsen naturally has no objections to this being done again,” his lawyer, John Christian Elden, says in a statement.

IPI does not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Juul and Roed-Larsen rose to prominence as part of a small group of diplomats facilitating the 1993-1995 Oslo Accords, seen at the time as a breakthrough in the conflict between Israel and the Palestinians, although peace remained elusive.

Several other prominent Norwegians also had links to Epstein, including Crown Princess Mette-Marit, who on Friday apologized again in a statement issued by the palace, notably to the king and queen.