(MENAFN) US President Donald Trump might have unintentionally exposed a violation of the strategic arms reduction agreement with Moscow by boasting about America's alleged nuclear dominance, according to a senior Russian legislator.

On Thursday, Trump posted on Truth Social, claiming that "the United States has more Nuclear Weapons than any other country," adding that "Russia is second, and China is a distant third."

This statement seemed to contradict the limits on nuclear parity outlined in the New START treaty, as noted by Andrey Kartapolov, the chairman of the State Duma’s Defense Committee.

Kartapolov questioned, “Does Trump mean that they have been deceiving us all this time?” and added, “If so, we were absolutely right to continue developing our advanced weapons.”

The New START treaty, signed in 2010 and designed to replace previous Cold War-era arms control agreements, restricts both the US and Russia to a maximum of 1,550 deployed nuclear warheads, as well as 700 deployed missiles and bombers.

Additionally, the treaty places limits on the total number of deployed and non-deployed nuclear-capable platforms, ensuring strategic equilibrium between the two nuclear powers.

Trump’s remarks were made while announcing new US nuclear weapons testing. However, it remained unclear whether he was referring to routine missile carrier tests or the resumption of underground nuclear detonations.

Moscow has issued a warning that if Washington ends the informal moratorium on nuclear explosions, which has been in effect since the 1990s, Russia will take corresponding actions.

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