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U.S. Secretary of State Kerry asks Europe to believe in itself

Xinhua, January 18, 2017 Adjust font size:

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry on Tuesday urged Europe to "believe in itself" and to remember the reasons why the European Union(EU) was founded.

"Europe's got to remember why we have been on this 70-year journey," Kerry said at the World Economic Forum(WEF) here, referring to the long period of peace that has held throughout most of the continent since the end of World War II.

He celebrated the historic effort, saying: "On the face of the planet, no region, no assembly of countries has grown as significantly or as powerfully as Europe has."

Kerry joined the WEF in the final days of his role as U.S. Secretary of State, as U.S. President-elect Donald Trump is due to be sworn into office on Friday, bringing with him a new administration.

Even as his work as secretary comes to an end, however, John Kerry pledged to remain engaged: "Given the issues that are on the table and the challenges that we face globally, I intend to be extremely active and involved and continue to press in the same direction that we've been pressing in."

He also tried to assure the audience about the future of global initiatives with the arrival of U.S. President Donald Trump. Taking the Iran Nuclear Agreement as an example, Kerry put his belief in the conviction of allies around the world to maintain the work of international diplomacy.

If the U.S. reneges on its commitments, however, "We'll have injured our own credibility," he said.

John Kerry also saw much to celebrate at the end of President Obama's administration, including the first high-level talks between the United States and Iran in 35 years, shared perspectives with Russia and other parties on the situation in Syria, and the Paris Climate Agreement.

Speaking of the Paris Agreement, Kerry gave recognition to the cooperation of China and the United States in paving the way for getting the deal off the ground. Endite