FBIS3-38070 "drsov039_a_94020"
FBIS-SOV-94-039 Document Type:Daily Report 28 Feb 1994
RUSSIA INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS

More on Deputies' Visit

LD2702094894 Moscow ITAR-TASS World Service in Russian 1029 GMT 26 Feb 94 LD2702094894 Moscow ITAR-TASS World Service Language: Russian Article Type:BFN [By ITAR-TASS correspondent Igor Borisenko] [Excerpt] Washington, 26 Feb -- Russian parliamentarians and law enforcement workers are visiting the United States with the aim of familiarizing themselves with the experience of U.S. law in fighting organized crime. They have held meetings with Attorney General Janet Reno, Secretary of Commerce Ronald Brown, and representatives of the State Department and the FBI. The arrest of the CIA agent Aldridge Ames, accused of spying for Russia, "has had no effect" on the visit, Mikhail Mityukov, the head of the delegation and first deputy chairman of the State Duma, told ITAR-TASS. In his words, at meetings with the FBI heads, they discussed the fight against organized crime, first and foremost against the Italian mafia and Asian criminal groups. We are primarily interested in how organized crime is combated in the United States, and how the law enforcement bodies act and cooperate, he continued. "The primary problem," according to M. Mityukov, is drawing up an American-Russian agreement on arranging laws which would open new paths toward cooperation in fighting organized crime. Meanwhile, he added, the Russian and American experts "are establishing contacts to coordinate" their efforts. Serious attention during the tour of the Russian delegation has been devoted to issues of intellectual property. "The fight against intellectual piracy is very topical", the Russian parliamentarian said. Both Russian and American businessmen are affected by it." [passage omitted]