Coca-Cola has officially apologized to Ukraine about the publication by its Russian office of a map showing Crimea as part of Russia.

The Ukrainian embassy in the U.S. said on Facebook on Thursday that a meeting with Kate Irvin, the head of the Washington office of Coca-Cola, had taken place in the Ukrainian diplomatic mission on Wednesday and that Irvin during that meeting had officially apologized for the misunderstanding caused by the publication by the company's Russian office of a map showing Crimea as part of Russia.

Irvin also gave a letter from Coca-Cola Senior Vice-President Clyde Tuggle to Ukraine's Ambassador to the U.S. Valeriy Chaly, which contained apologies for the publication and stated that its content had been created by an independent agency without the company's knowledge or approval, but the company assumes full responsibility for it.

The letter (its copy is also quoted in the embassy report) states that the company had immediately deleted the said publication as soon as it received information on the situation.

On Wednesday, Zaporizhia parliamentarians reacted to the incident by preparing a lawsuit seeking the protection of their honor, dignity and business reputation and seeking to recover from Coca-Cola UAH 1 million in moral damages for "a breach of international law."