YEREVAN, September 27. /TASS/. Armenian Foreign Minister Zohrab Mnatsakanyan is in constant contact with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov in connection with the escalation of the situation in Nagorno-Karabakh, press secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the republic Anna Naghdalyan said on Sunday.

"Our entire diplomatic service is working in an emergency mode. All our international partners are informed about the situation (in Nagorno-Karabakh - TASS) and our position. The Armenian Foreign Minister is in constant contact with the Russian Foreign Minister, the Georgian Foreign Minister. They were all informed about the situation," she said.

On Sunday morning, Ministry of Defense of Azerbaijan said that Armenia began intensive shelling on the positions of the Azerbaijani army and settlements, with reported casualties and wounded among the civilian population. In turn, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan announced that the Azerbaijani armed forces launched an offensive in the direction of Nagorno-Karabakh.

The conflict between Baku and Yerevan began in February 1988, when the Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Region announced its secession from the Azerbaijan SSR. During the conflict of 1992-1994, Azerbaijan lost control over Nagorno-Karabakh and seven adjacent regions. Since 1992, negotiations have been held on a peaceful settlement of the conflict within the framework of the OSCE Minsk Group, chaired by Russia, the United States, and France.