Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov (R) and his Iraqi counterpart Ibrahim al-Jaafari give a press conference following their meeting in Moscow on October 23, 2017. (AFP PHOTO)

MOSCOW, Oct. 23 (Xinhua) -- Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on Monday called on the Iraqi government and the Kurdish community to settle all issues through dialogue, following talks with his Iraqi counterpart Ibrahim al-Jaafari.

"They (the talks) confirmed Russia's position in favor of settling all issues between the Government of Iraq and the leadership of the Kurdish autonomy through constructive, mutually respectful dialogue on the basis of unity and territorial integrity of Iraq," Lavrov said at a joint press conference.

The minister said the Iraqi government does not reject Kurds, prohibit their culture or destroy their monuments, and that it is ripe for finding a way of coexistence of the two sides in a unified Iraq.

"We have not seen a war so far, hopefully, there will be no war between the Iraqi government troops and the Kurds," he said.

Tensions in Iraq have been escalating since the Sept. 25 referendum in Iraqi Kurdistan in which over 90 percent of Kurds supported secession from the Middle East country. Iraq, as well as the United States, Turkey, Iran and Syria, refused to acknowledge the results.