He has viewed Russia as being his country's most important partner, having likened Kyrgyzstan joining the Eurasian Economic Union to the Baltic States entering the European Union as well as saying that "There is no alternative" to relations with Russia. In 2020, on the occasion of the Azerbaijani victory in the Battle of Shusha, Otorbaev congratulated Azeri President Ilham Aliyev in his position as a member of the Baku-based Nizami Ganjavi International Center, calling the victory "a crucial step, which will lead to full liberation of Karabakh".