France/Balkans

Citroën says sorry for Balkans carve-up

Article published on the 2009-07-22 Latest update 2009-07-22 12:04 TU

Citroën has apologised to the Balkan states for the mix-up
(Photo: Citroën)

French carmaker Citroën has apologised for publishing a map which showed an incorrect version of the borders of the Balkan nations of the former Yugoslavia.

Citroën had merged Bosnia into neighbouring Serbia and Croatia, placed Montenegro within Serbia and gave Slovenia a large chunk of Croatia.

Citroën managing director Frédéric Banzet sent a letter to the Bosnian embassy in Paris expressing regret at the publication which appeared in the company's promotional material.

"Banzet informed the embassy... that he has stopped distribution of the material and ordered the destruction of the remaining copies," Bosnia's foreign ministry said in a statement.

The issue of borders is extremely sensitive in the Balkans. Bosnia's 1992-1995 inter-ethnic war was the bloodiest of the series of conflicts that broke up the six-republic communist federation, costing at least 100,000 lives.

Montenegro broke away from Serbia to become independent in 2006 while Croatia and Slovenia are currently in the midst of a border dispute which is threatening Croatia’s accession talks with the European Union.