The occupation of Azerbaijani territories by Armenia poses a threat to regional security, Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov said Oct. 23 at the meeting of the foreign ministers of the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) member countries in Baku, Trend reports.

“The ongoing occupation of Azerbaijani territories by Armenia poses a threat to regional security,” Mammadyarov said. “From the very beginning of the [Armenia-Azerbaijan Nagorno-Karabakh] conflict, military operations were carried out in Azerbaijan’s territory. This conflict affected both the infrastructure and the lives of civilians in Azerbaijan. We thank the countries of NAM for supporting Azerbaijan’s territorial integrity.”

The meeting of the foreign ministers, which will last until Oct. 24, is taking place in anticipation of the 18th Summit of the Heads of State and Government of the NAM member countries.

On Oct. 21-22, a preparatory meeting of officials of the participating countries took place.

The 18th Summit of the Heads of State and Government of the Non-Aligned Movement member-states will be held in Baku on Oct. 25-26 and Azerbaijan will chair this structure in 2019-2022.

Representatives of 158 countries and international organizations confirmed their participation in the summit. The event will be attended by foreign ministers, heads of state and government and other senior representatives.

NAM, uniting the countries which did not join any military-political blocs during the Cold War, was transformed into one of the important multilateral mechanisms. Today, the NAM is the second political platform after the UN, uniting in its ranks the biggest number of countries.