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Kerry Tweets 10 Days After Breaking Leg


Secretary of State John Kerry speaks to National Security Adviser Susan Rice from his hospital room at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, June 9, 2015. The photo was released June 10, 2015.
Secretary of State John Kerry speaks to National Security Adviser Susan Rice from his hospital room at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, June 9, 2015. The photo was released June 10, 2015.

After being out of the public eye for more than a week, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry has tweeted on his condition from a Boston hospital where he is recovering from a broken right leg.

Kerry's message on the social network indicated he was doing well and staying connected with senior staff by telephone.

In the photograph, Kerry is seated in a chair, resting his right leg and speaking on the phone. His room at Massachusetts General Hospital has a view of the River Charles that flows through Boston.

State Department spokesman Jeff Rathke said Tuesday that Kerry, 71, was receiving therapy, but it was unclear when he would be released.

Kerry's tweet appeared to be in response to questions asked of the spokesman at a daily briefing as to why Kerry, an avid bicyclist, has not been in the public eye since a cycling accident in Geneva May 31.

Surgery June 2

The State Department had been relatively tight-lipped about Kerry's progress after he underwent surgery on his broken right femur in Boston June 2.

When pressed on the lack of public appearances or photographs of Kerry recuperating, Rathke said earlier: "He underwent surgery -- major bone broken... That, of course, takes some time for recovery. And we've described that from the very start."

Rathke did not specify when Kerry could be expected back at work in Washington but said the State Department was hopeful he would be able to go to Europe at the end of the month for final negotiations of the historic Iran talks

The State Department has said Kerry remains committed to the established timetable for Iran nuclear talks.

The major powers negotiating with Iran over a final nuclear agreement in exchange for lifting economic sanctions on Tehran have a self-imposed June 30 deadline to reach a deal.

Some material for this report came from Reuters and AFP.

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, center, cycles past the Olympic Museum in Lausanne, France, March 16, 2015.
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, center, cycles past the Olympic Museum in Lausanne, France, March 16, 2015.

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