Russia is concerned about unrest in Iraq which threatens the country's territorial integrity, Russian news agencies quoted Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov as saying on Thursday.
Sunni rebels from an al Qaeda splinter group overran the Iraqi city of Tikrit on Wednesday and closed in on the biggest oil refinery in the country, making further gains in their rapid military advance against the Shi'ite-led government in Baghdad, Reuters reported.
"We are concerned about what's happening in Iraq," Lavrov was quoted as saying by Interfax news agency. "The [territorial] integrity of Iraq is in question."