Bolsonaro wonders why the international community "has its eyes on the Amazon"

• Click to share on Facebook (Opens in a new window)
• Click to share on Twitter (Opens in a new window)
• Click here to share on LinkedIn (Opens in a new window)
• Click to email a friend (Opens in a new window)

(CNN) - The president of Brazil, Jair Bolsonaro, expressed skepticism about the idea of ​​creating an international alliance to save the Amazon rainforest: “Why do they have their eyes on the Amazon? What do they want there? ”He told reporters in Brasilia on Monday.

Bolsonaro questioned the intentions behind the impulse of the president of France, Emmanuel Macron, to join an international effort to help preserve the Amazon rainforest, and called it an attack on the sovereignty of Brazil.

LOOK: The Amazon burns with multiple fires and some point to Bolsonaro by the ravages

"Do you think someone helps someone not to be poor without something in return?" He asked.

In contrast, Brazil's Environment Minister Ricardo Salles gave a more welcoming tone to the 20 million offered by the G7: "I think it is an excellent measure, it is very welcome," he said Monday.

However, Brazil will reject the offer. The chief of staff of the president of Brazil said the country will reject the money, suggesting that it should be used elsewhere.

"We are grateful, but perhaps those resources would be more relevant to reforest Europe," said Onyx Lorenzoni, quoted by G1 Globo on Monday night.

The fires in the Amazon have caused a dispute between Bolsonaro and the president of France, Emmanuel Macron, who has expressed the need for an international response to the fires.

MIRA: Brazil will reject 20 million dollars of aid of the G7 against fires of the Amazon

The G7 is an informal grouping composed of the seven largest economies in the world. At the group's annual summit, at the French resort in Biarritz on Monday, Macron announced that it would provide $ 20 million in aid to help fight fires.

But Bolsonaro said that the idea of ​​creating an international alliance to save the Amazon would be to treat Brazil as "a colony or no man's land", calling it an attack on the country's sovereignty.

The president of France, Emmanuel Macron, and his wife, Brigitte Macron.

AmazonBrigitte MacronJair Bolsonaro