Vilnius  - French officials have apologized for flying the Lithuanian flag upside-down at a meeting of the two countries' presidents last week, Lithuanian Foreign Minister Vygaudas Usackas said Thursday.

At a ceremony attended by French President Nikolas Sarkozy and Lithuania's Dalia Grybauskaite in Paris on September 4, the yellow, green and red flag of the Baltic state was incorrectly displayed next to the more famous French tricolor.

Answering questions in the Lithuanian parliament, Usackas said the gaffe "did not go unnoticed" and that French officials had apologised for their "improper and disrespectful behaviour."

Flying a flag upside-down is a traditional way of signalling surrender.

The incident is not the first time Lithuanian protocol has caused blushes overseas.

In May 2008 an official of the Czech Football Federation resigned after the Latvian national anthem was played before an international football match between the Czech Republic and Lithuania.(dpa)