Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan canceled a trip to Argentina on Sunday after Buenos Aires authorities halted the display of a bust of Turkey's founder, a move Turkey blamed on Armenian lobbyists.

The row over the statue, due to be unveiled in a park, comes during a high-profile trip to South America by Erdogan. Turkey's Foreign Ministry said in a statement the two-day visit, which was to have begun Sunday, was canceled, and it “hopes Argentina will take steps to remove the shadow cast on Turkish-Argentine relations.”

"The trip was canceled because written permission for the monument given to Turkey beforehand by the ... Buenos Aires district was reversed as a result of initiatives by the Armenian lobby, which is opposed to Turkey," it said. “Argentina's president spoke with Erdogan to explain she could not overrule the decision, yet he found this unacceptable and decided not to go,” the statement added, Reuters reported.