Obama wishes Merkel speedy recovery following accident

U.S. President Barack Obama sent well wishes to German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Wednesday, following news of her skiing accident in Switzerland just before the new year. Merkel injured her pelvis but is not staying in hospital. Obama called Merkel "to wish her a speedy recovery following her injury and to congratulate her on the formation of her new cabinet," according to a White House statement. Following her re-election last year, the new "grand coalition" cabinet was made up of Merkel's Christian Democratic party as well as the Social Democratic party. The negotiations to form the cabinet were the longest in German history. Obama and Merkel also discussed their agenda for the 2014, "including the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (T-TIP) negotiations and NATO Summit, and looked forward to working closely together to advance shared interests." Obama also extended an invitation to Merkel to visit Washington "at a mutually agreeable time in the coming months." Merkel's last known conversation with Obama in December was a heated conversation, according to the New York Times, in which she called the National Security Agency's spying tactics to "the Stasi." Documents leaked by former NSA contractor Edward Snowden showed the U.S. had been listening in on Merkel's mobile phone calls.