Greece issues special travel visas for Turks

Local Turkish media reported that authorities on the Greek island of Rhodes opened a new holiday visa terminal for Turkish visitors on April 1 as part of diplomatic efforts to ease long-standing tensions between the two countries. opened.

According to this report, the limited access visa allows Turks to visit 10 Greek islands for up to one week without applying for full access to the European Union’s passport-free travel area – known as the Schengen Area.

NATO members Greece and Turkey launched several initiatives last year to sidestep decades-old disputes – mainly over maritime borders and mineral rights in the Aegean Sea – to focus on trade.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan met Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis in December to sign a series of bilateral cooperation agreements in Athens.

Express visa can be issued in summer and throughout the year. Mitsotakis wrote in a weekly magazine: The move is designed to boost tourism in areas and at times of the year when there is not much traffic to help the local economy.

Greek officials said the new visa would cost 60 euros ($64.45) and include a passport check and fingerprinting at the ports announced, while visitors would not be allowed to travel to other EU member states.