Russia's foreign ministry says it has secured the release of a Russian contractor for the United Nations who was kidnapped this week in Haiti amid a recent rash of abductions for ransom.
Officials say the contractor, identified only as D. Khmelevsky, was released after joint efforts by the Russian embassy in Caracas and the U.N. mission in Haiti. Authorities say the captors demanded a ransom, but that no money was paid to secure his release.
Mr. Khmelevsky was abducted earlier this week, along with an Indian businessman, in separate incidents in Haiti's capital, Port-au-Prince.
Haiti has experienced a surge of ransom kidnappings in recent weeks. The Associated Press quotes one U.N. estimate that says 130 people, mostly affluent businessmen, were kidnapped last month alone in Port-au-Prince.
Some information for this story provided by AFP.
