• Pashinyan questions Russian alliance Suggests closer ties with United States and France Armenia needs new national security strategy - Pashinyan Armenia is home to Russian military facilities

MOSCOW, Feb 2 (Reuters) - Armenia can no longer rely on Russia as its main defence and military partner because Moscow has repeatedly let it down so Yerevan must think about forging closer ties with the United States and France, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said.

Armenia, a former Soviet republic bordered by Georgia, Azerbaijan, Iran and Turkey, has long relied on Russia as a big power ally and hosts a Russian military base in Gyumri, about 90 km (55 miles) northwest of the capital, and other facilities.

But Pashinyan, a former journalist who came to power in 2018 after a wave of street protests which he casts as a revolution, has angered the Kremlin by questioning the foundations of the alliance.