Azernews.Az

BAKU – Armenia has said it was opposed to Azerbaijan’s gaining a non-permanent seat in the United Nations Security Council, Armenian media reported.

"A country pursuing militarist policy which has increased its military budget 20-fold in the past six years cannot be a member of the UN SC," Foreign Minister Eduard Nalbandyan was quoted as saying.

Addressing a news conference with EU special envoy for the South Caucasus Philippe Lefort in Yerevan, the minister claimed that Azerbaijan’s potential membership would not promote the UN SC’s image.

Azerbaijan has submitted its bid for a non-permanent UN SC seat in 2012-2013, along with Hungary and Slovenia. The elections will be held during a session of the UN General Assembly on October 13.

Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov has said Azerbaijan’s election to the UN SC would contribute to "redressing under-representation" of small developing countries and "bring more balanced membership" to the organization.

Azerbaijan and Armenia have been locked in conflict for two decades. Since a war in the early 1990s, Armenian armed forces have occupied over 20 percent of Azerbaijan's territory. Baku has repeatedly warned that the Armenian-controlled territories will be taken back by force if the long-running peace talks yield no results.