Italian Foreign Minister Gianfranco Fini said on Tuesday that kidnapped Italian aid worker Clementina Cantoni was well and that her captors were in contact with Afghan authorities.

"We know that the woman is OK because the kidnappers have opened a channel for communication with Afghan authorities," Fini told journalists.

Cantoni's years of work to help Afghan widows might play a role in securing her release, he continued. "We're confident that all Afghans, and women in particular, will demand her release vociferously."

Asked whether the government intended to pay a ransom for the 32-year-old Italian, Fini said: "This is a question on which reserve, discretion and prudence are necessary to achieve the objective."

Source: Xinhua