US State Department officials hung a Russian flag upside-down before a meeting between Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and his US counterpart John Kerry in Zurich.

"What, are you serious?” was part of Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Public Affairs Glen Johnson’s reply after being informed by a Russian cameraman that the white stripe of the flag should be facing upwards in the conference room scheduled for the meeting. 

Johnson went on to ask the film crew “if the white should be on top?" to correct the mistake before Lavrov arrives. 

Lavrov and Kerry along with officials from other nations are in Switzerland for the World Economic Forum.  

This is not the first time the US government makes such a mistake. The Philippine flag was hung upside-down behind President Benigno Aquino III while leaders of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations met US President Barack Obama in New York in 2010.