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US Secretary of State Kerry Receives German Grand Cross First Class Decoration

© REUTERS / Fabrizio BenschU.S. Secretary of State John Kerry receives the Grand Cross, First Class of the order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany from German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier (R) at the Foreign Ministry in Berlin, Germany, December 5, 2016.
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry receives the Grand Cross, First Class of the order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany from German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier (R) at the Foreign Ministry in Berlin, Germany, December 5, 2016. - Sputnik International
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US Secretary of State John Kerry was awarded the Grand Cross 1st Class of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany and expressed his gratitude to Germany and his German counterpart Frank-Walter Steinmeier at a ceremony.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) — The Grand Cross 1st Class is the second highest class of the only German federal order. UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon and German Chancellor Angela Merkel are among the recipients of this decoration.

"I’m so privileged and grateful for all of you coming here to share in this special moment, this friendship between Federal Republic of Germany and the United States, between Frank-Walter Steinmeier and myself. Frank, I am beyocond humbled to receive this Order of Merit today and blown away by the comments that you’ve made and the photographs you dragged out of my past," Kerry said in a speech published on the State Department website on December 5.

Kerry spoke warmly about his relationship with the German foreign minister and the common goals of the two countries.

The US top diplomats also reassured his audience that outgoing US President Barack Obama was working closely with President-elect Donald Trump during the latter's transition period.

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