MOSCOW — Russia President Vladimir Putin has condoled with the victims of the attacks in Marawi, an incident that forced Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte to cut short his four-day official visit here. The incident prompted Duterte to place the entire island of Mindanao under martial law and to abruptly cut short what was supposed to be a landmark official visit here. LIVE updates: Martial Law in MindanaoDuring the meeting, Duterte informed Putin about the occupation by ISIS terrorists of some towns in Mindanao and apologized for cutting short his official visit. Putin said he was hopeful that the incident in Marawi would be resolved as soon as possible. Duterte previously said he was planning to buy precision-guided bombs from Russia to intensify the government’s campaign against terrorism and other armed threats.

Source: Philippine Star May 24, 2017 04:52 UTC