BRUSSELS, July 18 (Xinhua) -- U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry met with European Union (EU) foreign affairs ministers here on Monday morning wherein he reiterated the need for strong unity with the bloc, saying on Twitter, it was "critical we stand together."
"Our cooperation is essential to promoting international peace, stability, security and prosperity," said Kerry at a joint press conference with EU foreign affairs chief Federica Mogherini following the meeting.
"The fullness of our agenda is absolutely extraordinary. We are all united in fighting back against terror and we were united today in expressing our grief in the wake of last week's horrific attack in Nice," said Kerry.
Kerry said the act of savagery in Nice only served to strengthen the shared resolve to combat the forces of violent extremism around the world.
"With a new government taking shape in the UK and the negotiations upcoming on Britain's departure from the EU, there is obviously some uncertainty out there, but what came out of this meeting today was a remarkable sense of unity," he said.
According to the agenda issued by the EU side, they discussed EU-U.S. relations and exchanged views on the most pressing foreign policy issues, as well as U.S. President Barack Obama's "leaders" summit on refugees in New York on Sept. 20.
Ministers discussed the political instability in Turkey as well as talked about the next steps to strengthen the government of national accord in Libya, and expressed their combined support for Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity.
According to the U.S. State Department, Kerry travels to London on July 18, where he will attend two days of multilateral meetings on Yemen and Syria.
