Kerry’s surgery successful

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry

US Secretary of State John Kerry underwent a successful surgery to have a fracture in his right leg repaired, an official said.

The surgery was done at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, Massachusetts, State Department spokesman John Kirby said.

Before the surgery, Kerry spoke over phone to a meeting of allies in Paris, discussing the fight against Islamic State, Xinhua reported on Wednesday.

Kerry broke his right femur on Sunday in a bicycling accident when he joined a portion of the Tour de France route in France.

Kerry had been in Geneva, Switzerland, for talks with Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif on Saturday. He returned to Boston on Monday for the surgery and cancelled visits to Madrid in Spain and Paris in France.

The accident raised suspicions that Kerry’s injury may delay the Iran nuclear negotiations ahead of an end-of-June deadline.

“Because he believes he’s got a lot on his plate, and he does, and it’s too early to say what impact his injury will have on the broader negotiations,” said Josh Earnest, the White House press secretary, during a daily news briefing.

“The thing that I’m confident is true and will continue to be true is that he will play a leading role in our efforts to try to complete these negotiations by the end of June,” he Earnest said.