Egypt and Russia share the same stance on ridding the Middle East of weapons of mass destruction, said Egypt's former assistant foreign minister Reda Shehata.

Speaking to Sputnik news agency, Shehata said that Egypt was the first country to call for declaring the Middle East, including Israel, a region free of weapons of mass destruction.

Egypt's calls was challenged by a number of the world's superpowers who were opposing that Israel would subject to nuclear weapons inspection, Shehata added.

Such opposition made Egypt's call without avail, the Egyptian diplomat said.

Russia fully supports the Egyptian initiative, Shehata said, pointing out that the Russian national security is mainly affected by the Middle East strategy.