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2025 RELEASE UNDER THE PRESIDENT JOHN F. KENNEDY ASSASSINATION RECORDS ACT OF 1992

6/705

10 May

1982

I cord

Dear

David

0

VALERIY VLADIMIROVICH KOSTIKOV—

Please refer to our conversation of 6 May. KOSTIKOV, born 17 March

1933, Moscow, was posted to Beirut in 1978 as Ist Secretary and may still

that he may have been Department V. We do not appear to have asked LYALIN

about him, and are now doing so.

2.

We also note that EPSTEIN in "Legend" claims that according to a CIA

telecheck KOSTIKOV was Lee Harvey OSWALD's KGB case officer in Mexico City.

According to BARRON (page 335) OSWALD was in Mexico between September and

November 1963 and was seeking to obtain a Soviet visa. There was certainly

a KGB interest in OSWALD, although according to NOSENKO this was defensive.

3.

The reason for our current interest in KOSTIKOV will be obvious.

As

you are aware, our Embassy in Beirut, in common with other Western Missions,

has been subject t threats and violence in recent months,

and in view of

earlier hostile attentions from the KGB, we have been reviewing our records

of KGB staff in the area who might have been involved in promoting strong-arm

tactics.

4. We would be grateful for your views as to whether the KGB are likely to

be behind any of the recent incidents (possibly through the Syrians) and for

any information on KOSTIKOV and his activities in Mexico and in Beirut. In

particular, what are your comments on the OSWALD story; can you confirm that

KOSTIKOV is still in Beirut; is there anyone else in Beirut or Damascus whose

trace record suggests an Active Measures role, or worse?

5.

We should be grateful for an early reply and as I said on 6 May will treat

anything you can tell us on a strictly Service to Service basis.

CROSS FILE COPY FOR

201-289 248

Yours ever

100-8-95

DO NOT DESTROY

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5 fe David sTee

1111795017

• A C M de Vere

XAF.6*7215

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