US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken has accused Russia of "manipulating" and spreading a "fake story" that the country is under threat from Ukraine and NATO to justify the build-up of troops near its border with the former Soviet republic, Reuters reports.
Blinken addressed reporters at the State Department ahead of meetings between US and Russian diplomats in Europe next week aimed at easing tensions between Russia and the West, and after a virtual meeting with NATO foreign ministers earlier Friday.
Russia has positioned nearly 100,000 troops near its border with Ukraine "with plans to mobilize twice as many in a very short time" and justifies this with "misinformation" that Ukraine is seeking to provoke conflict, Blinken said.
"It's like a fox saying he has to attack a chicken coop because its inhabitants are a threat in some way. We have seen such manipulations before, "Blinken said, referring to Russia's takeover of Crimea in 2014 and the support of separatists in the Donbas region.
"The idea that Ukraine is the aggressor in this situation is absurd," Blinken said, adding that Moscow "at the same time creates the false story that NATO is threatening Russia."
But a diplomatic solution is still possible and preferable, and there are areas for potential progress in next week's meetings, Blinken said.
"Next week, we will reaffirm our readiness to increase transparency, introduce new risk reduction measures and renew our efforts to tackle nuclear and conventional threats to European security," he said. "But again, this must be a two-way street."
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