The minister has released a statement explaining the reasons for his resignation.

released 是动词 release 的过去式，release 由前缀 re-（表示"再次"）和词根 lease（来自拉丁语 laxare，意为"松开"）组成，本义是"松开、释放"，引申为"公开发表、发布"的意思。在这里指"正式对外公布声明"。