Azernews.Az

BAKU – Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov has said Azerbaijan’s election to the United Nations Security Council would contribute to "redressing under-representation" of small developing countries and "bring more balanced membership" to the UN SC, according to the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry.

Addressing the 50th anniversary meeting of the Non-Aligned Movement in Belgrade on Tuesday, Mammadyarov said: "I would like to assure you that NAM will benefit from its strengthened presence in the Security Council provided by Azerbaijan’s membership in this authoritative UN body."

Azerbaijan has put forward its candidature for a non-permanent seat in the UN SC for the term 2012-2013. The elections will be held during the 66th session of the UN General Assembly on October 13.

"Year 2012 marks the 20th anniversary of Azerbaijan’s membership to the United Nations, though, unlike other candidates from the Group of Eastern European States, it has never had an opportunity to be a member of the Security Council," Mammadyarov said.

"Among the candidates from our regional group, Azerbaijan is the only country which is a full-fledged member of the Non-Aligned Movement."

The minister went on to say that Azerbaijan is still suffering from the aggression of the neighboring Armenia, with almost 20 percent of Azerbaijani territory still under occupation, and around 1 million refugees and IDP’s having been ethnically cleansed from those territories. He said that despite the four UN SC resolutions, Armenia refuses to withdraw its troops from the occupied territories, standing in the way of lasting peace and stability in the region.

Mammadyarov said Baku hails the principled stand of many NAM member states in supporting Azerbaijan’s territorial integrity.

"We count on your continued solidarity of our just position and efforts aimed at putting an end to the occupation of the territories of my country."

Mammadyarov also reaffirmed Azerbaijan’s adherence to the NAM position concerning the Palestine issue and reiterated his country’s long-standing solidarity with the people and leadership of Palestine. "We believe that time has come to reach a breakthrough on this old and notorious issue," he added.