Israel should start talking seriously about ridding the Middle East of nuclear weapons, whether it admits to having them or not, the head of the UN nuclear watchdog said on Sunday.
Speaking to reporters on an official visit to the Russian capital, Mohamed ElBaradei - director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) - said this would be a main topic of his visit to Israel in early July.
"We need ... to rid the Middle East of all weapons of mass destruction," he said.
"Israel agrees with that, but they say it has to be ... after peace agreements," ElBaradei said. "My proposal is maybe we need to start to have a parallel dialogue on security at the same time when we're working on the peace process."
The Israeli Committee on Atomic Energy issued a statement in response saying that Israel would warmly welcome the IAEA chief during his visit.
"It (Israel) will listen closely to his views and respond with pertinent detail within the parameters of (Israel's) well-known current policy," it said in an apparent reference to Israel's strategic ambiguity over its nuclear capabilities.
Under that policy, Israel neither admits nor denies having nuclear weapons. International experts estimate that Israel has from 100 to 200 nuclear weapons.
ElBaradei said that a dialogue would help reduce widespread frustration in the Middle East "about what is seen to be a security imbalance". He said talks on nuclear disarmament could stimulate peace efforts by building confidence in the region.
ElBaradei said he would not be lecturing the Israelis on whether or not they should acknowledge having atom bombs.