Greek islands launch special visa program for Turkish visitors

Officials on the Greek island of Rhodes opened a new vacation visa terminal for Turkish visitors Monday as part of a diplomatic effort to ease long-standing tensions between the two countries.

The limited-access visa will allow Turks to visit 10 Greek islands for up to a week without having to apply for full access to the European Union's passport-free travel zone, known as the Schengen area.

NATO members Greece and Turkey launched several initiatives last year to try and sidestep decades-old disputes - mostly over sea boundaries and mineral rights in the Aegean Sea - to focus on trade.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan visited Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis in December to sign a series of bilateral cooperation agreements in Athens. Mitsotakis will visit Turkey next month. "The express visa can be issued not only in summer, but all year round....