As the United States future president, Donald Trump, is preparing to take control of the White House, US Secretary of State John Kerry is trying to address the “uncertainty” shadowing ties with Europe.
"It would be inappropriate for me to come here and not somehow speak to the uncertainty that people feel about where things are going," said the US top diplomat in Berlin Monday.
The visit to Berlin is the beginning a farewell tour to Europe in an effort to reassure European allies that transatlantic ties matter six weeks before Trump is assume office.
While campaigning for the 2016 presidential election, the GOP nominee spoke against pretty much all of the US alliances and deals with foreign states.
Kerry, who received the Grand Cross of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany from his German counterpart, Frank-Walter Steinmeier, admitted that Trump’s arrival has caused “an anxiety playing out in the body politic of countries on a global basis."
"We're going to make it folks, and I'm absolutely confident about that," he said. "We just have to keep our heads about it and stay steady and keep working in the same direction."
Kerry’s remarks were reminiscent of the message President Barack Obama gave Europe during his farewell tour in Europe last month.
“And I am confident that just as America’s commitment to the transatlantic alliance has endured for seven decades, whether it’s been under a Democratic or a Republican administration, that commitment will continue, including our pledge and our treaty obligation to defend every ally.”