The Italian fiancee of George Papadopoulos offered the first public defense of the embattled former Trump campaign adviser, who in October was revealed as the first campaign adviser to plead guilty and cooperate with the special counsel’s Russia probe.

“George is very loyal to his country,” Simona Mangiante told ABC News chief anchor George Stephanopoulos in an exclusive interview. “He is already on the right side of history. I think he will make a big difference.”

PHOTO: George Papadopoulos poses with his fiancee, Simona Mangiante. (Facebook/George Papadopoulos) More

Papadopoulos pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI and has agreed to cooperate with the investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 presidential campaign. He is due to be sentenced in January.

Mangiante said she decided to speak publicly to counter claims from President Donald Trump and his aides that Papadopoulos was, as Trump tweeted, a “young, low level volunteer.” Or in the words of campaign adviser Michael Caputo, a “coffee boy.”

Mangiante said he was far from a bit player in the historic Republican campaign.

PHOTO: George Papadopoulos' fiancee, Simona Mangiante, is interviewed by ABC's George Stephanopoulos. (ABC News) More

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“First of all, I would love George to learn how to make a coffee, because it's absolutely out of his skills,” she joked. “George is a remarkable young man with incredible experience in the field of energy and oil policies. This experience led him to get into the campaign and to advise the president at only 28 years old."

PHOTO: Photo posted to Donald Trump's Instagram account showing George Papadopoulos, circled in red. (realdonaldtrump/Instagram) More

Mangiante said Papadopoulos "set up meetings with leaders all over the world” for senior campaign officials. He was “constantly in touch with high-level officials in the campaign,” she added. That included direct communication with now-former senior Trump advisers Steve Bannon and Michael Flynn, Mangiante said, adding that she had seen correspondence supporting the assertion.

Neither Bannon nor an attorney for Flynn responded to a request for comment Thursday.

PHOTO: George Papadopoulos’ fiancée, Simona Mangiante speaks with ABC News chief anchor George Stephanopoulos in an exclusive interview. (ABC News) More

How close Papadopoulos got to the upper ranks of the campaign remains unclear. White House press secretary Sarah Sanders has said previously that his role was "extremely limited."

"It was a volunteer position," she said in October.

PHOTO: George Papadopoulos in a photo posted to his Facebook page. (Facebook/George Papadopoulos) More

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