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."

He 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.

Asked if he thought the Israelis would be open to such an idea, he said: "I don't know. That's the purpose of my visit."

ElBaradei said he would not be lecturing the Israelis on whether or not they should acknowledge having atom bombs.

Under a policy of so-called "strategic ambiguity," Israel neither admits nor denies having nuclear weapons but is widely believed to have from 100 to 200 nuclear weapons.