The Russian missile cruiser Moskva patrols in the Mediterranean Sea, off the coast of Syria in December 2015. (AFP)

Moscow - Raed Jaber

Moscow is seeking to retrieve the highly-sensitive espionage devices that were on board the Russian jet that was accidentally downed on Monday by Syrian regime air defenses, sources told Russia’s Nezavisimaya Gazeta newspaper.

A specialized Russian navy ship arrived off the Syrian coast to retrieve the devices from the Ilyushin 20 military plane that crashed in the Mediterranean.

Russian media had previously reported that the aircraft was filming military operations in Syria. They speculated that it was filming the Israeli strikes on Syria’s Latakia that preceded its downing.

The regime air defenses on Monday night mistakenly struck the military aircraft after the Israeli raid on a regime facility, killing all 15 crew members.

On Thursday, the Russian navy shut vast areas of the eastern Mediterranean, off the coasts of Syria, Lebanon and Cyprus, in order to carry out drills.

Russian circles speculated, however, that the closure was aimed at keeping jets and ships away from the crash site.

A political observer told Nezavisimaya Gazeta, however, that Russian naval drills were being held in preparation for a possible assault on Syria’s Idlib province despite a deal that was reached this week between Moscow and Ankara to avert such a campaign.

The daily quoted Lebanese media as saying that the Nusra Front in Idlib was seeking to violate the Turkish-Russian deal.

Since the deal was signed on Monday, signs began to emerge that strikes may be carried out against the Nusra Front and other extremist groups if they refuse to respect the agreement that calls for their withdrawal from a demilitarized zone by mid-October.

Ankara and Moscow reached an agreement on Friday on the borders of the demilitarized zone to be set up in Idlib. The agreed borders take into account Idlib’s geographical structure and residential areas.

A military offensive also appeared likely after Turkish Defense Minister Hulusi Akar said that his forces will continue their operations in Idlib in cooperation with Russia.

Moscow also said that it was preparing to carry out operations against extremist groups there, reported Nezavisimaya Gazeta.

This was confirmed on Friday when Russian Defense Minister Sergei Lavrov asserted that the demilitarized zone in Idlib “was not the final solution, but a necessary step towards reaching a settlement in Syria.”

He added that the Turkish-Russian agreement was primarily aimed at eliminating the threat of terrorism.