Syria plans to establish diplomatic relations with the "Donetsk People's Republics (DPR)" and "Luhansk People's Republics (LPR)" in the coming weeks, Syrian Foreign Minister Faisal Mekdad said at a meeting with his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov on Tuesday, TASS News Agency reported.

At a press conference after the meeting, Lavrov said that an escalation of military action in Syria would be "unacceptable", in comments aimed at persuading Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan to row back talk of a new campaign in northern Syria.

He also said that there can be "no mercy" for those behind the car bombing that killed the daughter of Russian philosopher Alexander Dugin Alexander Dugin. 

(With input from agencies)