Japan top government spokesman says important to maintain G7 framework

TOKYO (Reuters) - Japan's top government spokesman, Yoshihide Suga, said on Tuesday it was extremely important to maintain the framework of Group of Seven (G7) meetings.

The comment comes after U.S. President Donald Trump said on Monday that he has not decided whether to invite Russian President Vladimir Putin to this year's summit meeting.

The G7 includes Germany, France, Britain, Italy, Japan and Canada in addition to the United States. Russia was expelled from the then so-called G8 group in 2014 after annexing the Crimea region from Ukraine.

Chief Cabinet Secretary Suga also said it is up to the United States, this year's chair country, to decide what form the forthcoming summit meeting will take.

(Reporting by Kiyoshi Takenaka; Editing by Jacqueline Wong)