BERLIN (AP) — U.S. envoy John Kerry had a message for America's allies in Berlin, rattled by the recent political upheaval in Europe and the United States: "We're going to be OK."

Speaking in the German capital Monday, the U.S. Secretary of State sought to reassure an audience of senior diplomats that the values they share with the United States will prevail.

"It would be inappropriate for me to come here and not somehow speak to the uncertainty that people feel about where things are going," he said after receiving Germany's Order of Merit award from the country's foreign minister, Frank-Walter Steinmeier.

"There is obviously an anxiety playing out in the body politic of countries on a global basis," Kerry said, citing the weekend referendum in Italy, Britain's decision to leave the European Union and Donald Trump's victory in the U.S. presidential elections.

Echoing U.S. President Barack Obama's words in Berlin last month, Kerry said the world faces rapid technological and economic challenges unlike those that shaped the 20th century.

"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."

Maintaining good ties between Berlin and Washington was important not just for the two countries, Kerry said.

"This alliance is critical to everybody on this planet because of what we believe about human beings, about opportunity, about freedom, and about the rule of law," he said.