Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev kicked off a two-day visit November 11 to Russia by exchanging pleasantries in the Kremlin with Vladimir Putin and meeting with students at the prestigious Moscow State Institute for International Relations. Tokayev sought to reassure Putin that bilateral ties retain “the character of strategic partnership,” adding that “there are no serious problems between our states.” Putin, meanwhile, voiced a desire to “talk informally about issues…