Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said the Kremlin respects Iraq’s sovereignty. Bilateral talks Monday came after Baghdad issued veiled warnings over oil contracts. After Iraq issued veiled warnings about oil work in the Kurdish north of Iraq, Russia’s foreign minister said Monday the Kremlin respects Iraq’s sovereignty. Iraqi Foreign Minister Ibrahim al-Jaafari spoke Monday as his country copes with an uptick in violence in the northern provinces. Iraqi military forces pushed their Kurdish counterparts back into territory controlled by the semiautonomous Kurdistan Regional Government following a contentious referendum for independence. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said the Kremlin didn’t want to see Iraq create new fault lines in the weeks that followed the liberation of parts of northern Iraq from the terrorist group calling itself the Islamic State , known also as Daesh. “I want to confirm once again our […]