Blinken Accuses Russia of ‘False Narrative’ on Ukraine Ahead of Talks

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 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. Blinken said Russia has worked for years to undermine Ukraine’s democratic institutions, interfere in its politics, block energy and…