John Kerry Is Wicked Psyched He Found Dunkin’ Donuts in Moscow

John Kerry found his hometown coffee shop on the streets of Moscow Tuesday.

21148814091_e28359be20_k
21148814091_e28359be20_k

It has been a long year for U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry. From negotiating the Iran deal to attending the Paris climate summit to trying to arrange Syrian peace talks, the man just needs a decent cup of coffee.

It has been a long year for U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry. From negotiating the Iran deal to attending the Paris climate summit to trying to arrange Syrian peace talks, the man just needs a decent cup of coffee.

So it’s no surprise he was positively beaming Tuesday in Moscow when, in between meetings with Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and President Vladimir Putin, he stumbled upon his hometown coffee shop in the middle of the Russian capital.

It was not immediately clear whether Kerry had time to escape the falling snow by ducking inside and ordering a cup of joe, but he did have time to pose in front of the Russian Dunkin’ Donuts sign, grinning from ear to ear.

The coffee and breakfast chain got started in Massachusetts, and Bostonians love few things more than a good tradition. Kerry, who attended school in New England and later served as Massachusetts’s lieutenant governor and U.S. senator, has made it somewhat of one to swing by various Dunkins for photo-ops.  

In September, shortly after a new Dunkin’ location opened at the State Department in Foggy Bottom, Kerry popped in to buy a box of doughnuts for his staff, then reportedly finished a presidential brief eating a powdered one.

Screen Shot 2015-08-10 at 11.44.56 AM

Screen Shot 2015-08-10 at 11.44.56 AM

Last January, on a state visit to Pakistan, Kerry found his way to Islamabad’s Dunkin’ Donuts and tweeted an awkward picture of himself greeting the local employees.

And in June 2013, he was pictured delivering a box of doughnuts to his brother, then-acting U.S. Secretary of Commerce Cameron Kerry.

Screen Shot 2015-08-10 at 11.44.56 AM

Screen Shot 2015-08-10 at 11.44.56 AM

Washington might be 400 miles from Boston, but it sounds like, in this administration at least, U.S. diplomacy runs on Dunkin’.

Photo credit: Twitter, State Department

More from Foreign Policy

Newspapers in Tehran feature on their front page news about the China-brokered deal between Iran and Saudi Arabia to restore ties, signed in Beijing the previous day, on March, 11 2023.
Newspapers in Tehran feature on their front page news about the China-brokered deal between Iran and Saudi Arabia to restore ties, signed in Beijing the previous day, on March, 11 2023.

Saudi-Iranian Détente Is a Wake-Up Call for America

The peace plan is a big deal—and it’s no accident that China brokered it.

Austin and Gallant stand at podiums side by side next to each others' national flags.
Austin and Gallant stand at podiums side by side next to each others' national flags.

The U.S.-Israel Relationship No Longer Makes Sense

If Israel and its supporters want the country to continue receiving U.S. largesse, they will need to come up with a new narrative.

Russian President Vladimir Putin lays flowers at the Moscow Kremlin Wall in the Alexander Garden during an event marking Defender of the Fatherland Day in Moscow.
Russian President Vladimir Putin lays flowers at the Moscow Kremlin Wall in the Alexander Garden during an event marking Defender of the Fatherland Day in Moscow.

Putin Is Trapped in the Sunk-Cost Fallacy of War

Moscow is grasping for meaning in a meaningless invasion.

An Iranian man holds a newspaper reporting the China-brokered deal between Iran and Saudi Arabia to restore ties, in Tehran on March 11.
An Iranian man holds a newspaper reporting the China-brokered deal between Iran and Saudi Arabia to restore ties, in Tehran on March 11.

How China’s Saudi-Iran Deal Can Serve U.S. Interests

And why there’s less to Beijing’s diplomatic breakthrough than meets the eye.