\MOSCOW, September 29. /TASS/. Azerbaijan’s operation in Nagorno-Karabakh was plotted during joint drills with Turkey, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said on Tuesday.

"Azerbaijan must immediately stop its aggression against Nagorno-Karabakh and Armenia because it was unleashed by Azerbaijan," he said in an interview with the 60 Minutes program on the Rossiya-1 television channel. "This operation was planned beforehand and there are no doubts that this operation was plotted during joint drill with the Turkish armed forces."

The situation in Nagorno-Karabakh escalated on September 27, when Azerbaijan said its positions had come under extensive fire from Armenia. Armenia, in turn, said the Azerbaijani army had staged an offensive in the direction of Nagorno-Karabakh. It said a number of settlements in Nagorno-Karabakh, including its administrative center Stepanakert, had come under shelling by Azerbaijan. Both sides report casualties, including among civilians. Both Armenia and Azerbaijan have imposed martial law and announced mobilization.