OREANDA-NEWS. The European Union sanctions regime against Turkey’s unauthorized drilling operations in the Eastern Mediterranean has been extended by a year. Restrictive measures will be in effect until November 12, 2021. Currently, two people are subject to the sanctions; their names have not been announced.

The oil and gas fields were discovered in the Eastern Mediterranean in 2009. Some promising shelf areas are the subject of territorial disputes between Turkey and Cyprus, Turkey and Greece, Israel and Lebanon. In January 2019, representatives of Egypt, Cyprus, Greece, Israel, Italy, Jordan and Palestine announced the formation of the Eastern Mediterranean Gas Forum.

The situation in the region escalated when Ankara announced its intention to conduct a seismic survey from July 21 to August 2, 2020 on the Greek island of Kastellorizo, located 2 kilometers from the Turkish coast.