Mexico City, Aug 28 (IANS): Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said that he put ties with the United States Embassy in Mexico City "on pause" after US Ambassador to Mexico Ken Salazar criticised his administration's proposed judicial reform.

"They have to learn to respect Mexico's sovereignty, it's no small matter," Lopez Obrador told reporters at the National Palace in Mexico City during his usual daily press conference on Tuesday.

Ties with the embassy will stay paused until the diplomatic outpost clears up what was said regarding the reform initiative, reports Xinhua news agency, quoting the President, adding the bilateral relationship with the US government continues as always.

On August 22, Salazar said the reform's proposal to have judges elected by popular vote instead of being political appointments, as they are now, represented a risk to democracy and would weaken economic integration.

Lopez Obrador's administration sent a diplomatic note to the United States on Friday, following Salazar's remarks.