MINSK. May 25 (Interfax) - The Belarusian and Russian defense ministers signed documents regulating the deployment of Russian non-strategic nuclear weapons in Belarus at a meeting in Minsk, the press service for the Belarusian Defense Ministry said on Thursday.
"Defense Minister of Belarus Lieut. Gen. Viktor Khrenin and Defense Minister of Russia Gen. of the Army Sergei Shoigu held a bilateral meeting in Minsk. At the meeting, they signed documents determining a procedure for the deployment of Russian non-strategic nuclear weapons in a special storage facility in Belarus," it said.
"The defense ministers also discussed the military-political situation and military-technical cooperation between the defense ministries," it said.
Russian President Vladimir Putin said in March that an agreement had been reached with Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko on deploying tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus. Putin said in an interview with journalist Pavel Zarubin for the "Moscow. Kremlin. Putin" program, aired on the Rossiya-24 (VGTRK) television channel, that Russia had transferred an Iskander missile system, which is able to carry tactical nuclear weapons, to Belarus.
The Russian Defense Ministry said on April 26 that Belarusian troops thoroughly studied the use of special tactical munitions for Iskander missile systems during their training in Russia.
According to data from open sources, special tactical munitions are defined as Iskander-M system munitions with a nuclear warhead.
The Russian Defense Ministry said on April 14 that Belarusian servicemen had completed a training course to operate Sukhoi Su-25 attack planes. The servicemen were trained to use modern air-launched munitions, including specialized ones, the ministry said