MOSCOW, July 1. /TASS/. The deployment of Russian tactical nuclear weapons on Belarusian soil does not violate the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) because Moscow does not cede control over them to Minsk, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov said.

"The steps that we took within the framework of the Union State’s shared defense space are of a forced nature. That said, they do not go beyond the framework of our international obligations, including on the NPT. It is necessary to stress yet again that control over Russian nuclear arms is not being handed over," the senior diplomat noted in an interview with TASS on the 55th anniversary of the treaty’s signing.