President Ilham Aliyev addressed the obstacles hindering the development of the mining industry in Azerbaijan during a meeting dedicated to the State Program on the development of the mining and metallurgical industries.

Operativ Media reports that the head of state said: "Unfortunately, due to both objective and subjective reasons, the mining industry in Azerbaijan has not developed to the required level. The objective reasons are that many of our deposits discovered during the Soviet era were located in occupied territories, and the state of Armenia continued its policy of occupation, including the plundering of the natural resources of the Azerbaijani people and state."

The president also added that while some exploration work was carried out during the Soviet era, this region, and Azerbaijan in particular, was not considered a priority in this field by the Soviet government at the time.