Putin praises U.S. hostage rescue

MOSCOW, Russia -- President Vladimir Putin has praised members of the Russian secret service for the "professional" way they secured the release of U.S. hostage Kenneth Gluck.

Putin told a Kremlin meeting on Monday that the operation to release Gluck from Chechen rebels had been carried out "with a high degree of professionalism, without loss of life."

MESSAGE BOARD Changes in Russia

The American, who ran the Chechnya mission for the Nobel Prize-winning aid group Medecins sans Frontieres (MSF), was released in what Russia says was an undercover strike by its special agents.

Gluck, freed in Chechnya after his 26-day kidnap ordeal, is being questioned by Russian security services before being reunited with his colleagues.

He was taken to a Russian military base at Khankala, near Grozny, and is due to fly by helicopter to Nazran in the neighbouring state of Ingushetia where MSF has an office.

In a telephone interview with CNN, Gluck said: "In terms of my health, I feel good They were pretty good with me. They didn't beat me or touch me or anything. Now, I'll be glad to go home."

'No money paid'

The 38-year-old New Yorker was grabbed from his car by masked kidnappers on January 9. He was snatched back from his captors on Saturday night by Russia's federal security service, which had known his whereabouts for several days.

Security spokesman Alexander Zdanovich said: "It was not possible to carry out the operation in those areas where he was without seriously putting our people at risk.

"We watched his movements very carefully the whole while and as soon as the opportunity materialised, we moved. No money was paid," he said.

Gluck had been moved from place to place, held in a basement and in a home at various times, Zdanovich said.

"He's telling our agents about that right now because he understands that if he or his colleagues remain here to work, they're going to need a system of security," he said.

"Working here without any thought to security, and just relying on the fact that they are humanitarian aid organisation, is an invitation to the bandits. They don't care who you work for."

Gluck's kidnapping prompted the United Nations and non-governmental organisations to suspend operations in Chechnya. Gluck studied Russian at Harvard University.

MSF spokeswoman Kris Torgeson said: "Obviously we're waiting for Kenny and that's all we're focused on right now. We're extremely happy to know that he's free and well and looking forward to seeing him."

Hundreds of people -- foreign aid workers, journalists, Russian soldiers and local residents -- have been kidnapped by armed bands for ransom in Chechnya in recent years.

The Russian Interior Ministry says about 700 people are believed currently to be in captivity.

Reuters contributed to this report.

Report: Chechen kidnap victim is alive
February 2, 2001
Chechen kidnapping prompts aid pullout
January 11, 2001
Aid worker kidnapped in Chechnya
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Chechnya Online
Russian Ministry of Defence
Medecins Sans Frontieres

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