Blinken accuses Russia of 'false narrative' on Ukraine ahead of talks

FILE PHOTO: U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken delivers year-end remarks for 2021 and answers questions from news media gathered at the U.S. State Department in Washington, U.S., December 21, 2021. REUTERS/Evelyn Hockstein/Pool

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Friday accused Russia of "gaslighting" and pushing a "false narrative" that it was under threat from Ukraine and NATO to justify a troop build-up near its border with the former Soviet republic.

Blinken addressed reporters at the State Department ahead of meetings https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/veteran-us-russia-diplomats-tackle-ukraine-tensions-geneva-2022-01-07 of U.S. and Russian diplomats in Europe next week aimed at bringing down the temperature between Russia and the West, and after a virtual meeting with NATO foreign ministers earlier on Friday.