"Military cooperation between Belarus and Russia is carried out in strict accordance with international law. The training of Belarusian pilots capable of flying aircraft with specific munitions, the modernization of such aircraft, as well as the deployment of nuclear warheads on the territory of Belarus without transferring control over them to Minsk, as well as access to relevant technologies, in no way contradict the provisions of Articles I and II of the NPT," the ministry said in a statement.
Deploying tactical nuclear weapons on the territory of another country is not an innovation in military cooperation between non-nuclear and nuclear powers, the ministry said, adding that NATO has long been practicing joint nuclear missions.
On March 25, Russian President Vladimir Putin said that Moscow and Minsk had agreed to station Russia's tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus, which does not breach Russia's commitments to the non-proliferation of nuclear weapons. Putin noted that Russia was not transferring its nuclear weapons to Belarus, but was doing what the US has been doing for decades - stationing its tactical nuclear weapons on the territories of its allies and training their crews to operate the weapons.