Washington - The US State Department on Thursday wished former South African President Nelson Mandela a speedy recovery, calling the 92-year-old elder statesman "a truly global citizen."
"He is one of the world's statesmen, a truly global citizen in the finest sense of the word, and our thoughts and prayers are with him and his family," State Department spokesman Philip Crowley said.
Mandela was admitted to Johannesburg's Milpark Hospital for medical tests on Wednesday.
"We are obviously, through our embassy in South Africa, closely monitoring his status, and we certainly will continue to hope for a speedy recovery," Crowley said.
He called Mandela "a great friend of the United States".
Mandela spent 27 years in prison for activities against the former apartheid government in South Africa. He became the country's democratically elected president in 1994.
