EU member states on Friday extended for another year a sanctions framework against Turkey allowing visa bans and asset freezes against individuals involved in contested gas exploration in the Mediterranean.

The move comes as tensions remain high between the European Union and Turkey. 

Ankara has ordered a gas exploration vessel into east Mediterranean waters claimed by Cyprus and Greece, both of which are calling for more sanctions to be imposed.

The EU sanctions framework was extended to November 12, 2021, the European Council said in a statement. 

It prolongs an EU decision, reached in October 2019, under which two senior officials of the state-owned Turkish Petroleum Corporation were in February this year subjected to sanctions.