Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan said he hopes U.S. President-elect Donald Trump would take a different approach on the Middle East during his term, but that some of the messages coming from his side were concerning, broadcaster NTV reported on Wednesday. "It seems too early to me to make observations about this," Erdogan told reporters on a return flight from Baku. "Our hope is that Trump takes very different steps toward the region this term because the messages being given from time to time concern us," he was cited as saying. Asked about Turkey's decision to halt all trade with Israel in May, Erdogan said Ankara had no trade ties with Israel at the moment and no desire to develop them. Turkey withdrew its ambassador in Israel for consultations after the Gaza war broke out, but has not officially severed its ties with Israel and its embassy remains open and operational.
Erdogan also said China and Russia had signed an initiative that Turkey launched at the United Nations to impose a weapons embargo on Israel. (Reporting by Tuvan Gumrukcu and Huseyin Hayatsever; Editing by Jonathan Spicer)