Ilves, speaking at a joint press conference with President Abdullah Gül, who is on a two-day visit to Estonia, said he was very pleased to be hosting Gül in his country. He also praised Turkey for the support it showed for Estonia's membership in NATO. Noting that support for Turkey's EU membership was a key aspect of Estonian foreign policy, Ilves said relations between the two countries were improving every day. The two leaders talked about the combat of terrorism. Ilves said he told Gül he believed Estonia should be doing more to help Turkey in its fight against terrorism. President Gül thanked Ilves and expressed Turkey's support for Georgian territorial integrity in response to a question from the press during the press conference. "We would like to see the problems in the region solved through dialogue. There are a number of problems that seem to be frozen at an impasse in the Caucasus. If you don't handle these problems calmly and delicately at some point, then they turn into hot problems all of a sudden," Gül said. He also reiterated Turkey's call for establishing a joint platform between the region's countries and Russia to fend off similar crises in the future.

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