U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry makes remarks to the media before a bilateral meeting with UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon at the State Department in Washington February 14, 2013. Credit: Reuters/Mike Theiler
(Reuters) - John Kerry will visit nine countries in Western Europe and the Middle East on his first trip as U.S. secretary of state to consult allies on topics including Syria's civil war, the State Department said on Tuesday. Kerry will travel to London, Berlin, Paris and Rome, where he is expected to attend a gathering of senior officials from nations supporting the Syrian opposition and to meet with opposition members.
AA - Turkish President Abdullah Gul said that Turkish-US relations were one of the main pillars of Turkish foreign policy. According to the web site of the Turkish Presidency, Gul, Kerry and an accompanying delegation on Friday discussed bilateral and regional relations in detail. President Gul, congratulating Kerry for having been assigned the position of US Secretary of State, stressed that Kerry's visit came at a time when many critical developments were taking place in the region.
AA- US Secretary of State John Kerry on Friday attended the commemoration ceremony for the Turkish guard killed at the bomb attack to US Embassy in Ankara. Kerry soon after arriving in Ankara went to the embassy to attend the ceremony for Mustafa Akarsu, the Turkish guard who was killed by terrorist attack on February 1. The ceremony took place in the garden of the diplomatic compound and Kerry decorated Akarsu family with Thomas Jefferson Star which is rarely given for the heroic actions on behalf of US government.
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