Thornburgh, KGB Chief Plan to Cooperate on Law Enforcement

MOSCOW —  Atty. Gen. Dick Thornburgh said Thursday that he and Vladimir A. Kryuchkov, head of the KGB, will try to establish effective contact in several fields of law enforcement, including narcotics and terrorism.

Thornburgh, winding up a five-day visit to the Soviet Union, told reporters that his discussions with Kryuchkov were “more philosophical than operational” but that the two officials will try to cooperate in “areas where our jurisdictions coincide.”

He said it would be premature, however, to look for any formal agreement or understanding between the Justice Department and the KGB, which is the Soviet security and intelligence agency.

Thornburgh, appearing at a joint news conference with Justice Minister Veniamin F. Yakovlev, his official host, said he is not prepared to make an assessment of the fairness of the Soviet system of justice.

He had been questioned about this by a reporter who noted that in the West, Soviet justice has been viewed as subject to the whims of the people in power.

Thornburgh said he could not make a definitive assessment on the basis of a brief visit but that in the course of his stay, the Soviets conveyed a “strong commitment to improve the quality of justice available to the average Soviet citizen.”

He also said that Soviet legal officials told him and members of his delegation that greater emphasis will be given to rights to representation by counsel and to redress from administrative decisions that affect citizens’ lives or livelihood.

The official Tass news service reported that Thornburgh and Soviet Prosecutor-General Alexander Y. Sukharev signed an agreement on joint prosecution of Nazi war criminals during his visit. It said the accord formalized the existing practice of cooperating on investigation of suspects and bringing them to trial.

Intelligence sources in Washington have voiced skepticism about any attempt at rapprochement with the KGB. Yet, Thornburgh said it would be “shortsighted to not explore” such areas as narcotics and terrorism.

As to how Americans might react to the discussions, Thornburgh said he told Kryuchkov that their attitude would be “one of healthy skepticism about our ability to go forward from these initial discussions.”

Thornburgh and Yakovlev also pledged to exchange information regularly on legislation covering citizen rights and other issues.