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Azerbaijan says it is putting on hold plans to invest in projects in Mexico worth about $3.8 billion because of Mexico's decision earlier this year to remove a statue of Azerbaijan's late leader Heydar Aliyev, the Russian service of the Voice of America reports.

As noted in the article Azerbaijan's ambassador to Mexico, Ilgar Mukhtarov, at the press conference in Mexico said he was sorry for the decision of Mexico.

“Azerbaijan has been considering investment projects in Mexico worth about $3.8 billion, aimed at the construction of refineries and realization of other projects, but now all these funds are frozen,” he said.

Monument to Heydar Aliyev which was installed in one of the central parks of Mexico City in August 2012 caused bewilderment among the residents. Azerbaijan has spent about $ 5 million on the reconstruction of two parks in Mexico City, after which it was allowed to install a monument there. Several protests were held in the capital of Mexico during which the participants claimed they did not want to see the statue of a dictator, who had ruled thousands of miles away from their country, next to the monuments of their heroes.

As a result, the special commission recommended that the authorities of Mexico deinstalled the statue of former Azerbaijani President Heydar Aliyev, noting that the government made a mistake by taking money and allowing the foreign government to decide which political and historical figures should be honored publically in the Mexican capital.

In mid-January, Foreign Ministry of Mexico has given absolute freedom to the government of Mexico to make up a decision concerning the controversial statue of Aliyev. In his turn, the Azerbaijani Ambassador to Mexico Ilgar Mukhtarov told that the Embassy has decided to appeal to international organizations for the solution of the problem. The Legislative Assembly of Mexico addressed to the government of Mexico with a call to dismantle the statue. In late January, the monument was dismantled and taken to a warehouse.