Amazon fires: Bolsonaro will accept aid only if Macron apologized

Brazil's President Jair Bolsonaro has set conditions in the dispute over the forest fires aid offered by the G7 states in the Amazon region. He wants French President Emmanuel Macron to apologize to him, then he is ready for talks about the aid payments.

"First, Macron should take back the insults against me," said the head of state. "He called me a liar, and then, according to my information, he questioned the sovereignty of the Amazon."

The G7 countries pledged emergency aid of $ 20 million (about € 17.9 million) to Brazil at its Biarritz summit to advance the firefighting operations in the forest fire region. The money was intended primarily to finance fire-fighting aircraft

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French President Emmanuel Macron described the Amazon region as a "common good" in this context because of its importance for global climate protection. He also accused Bolsonaro of having lied to him at the summit of the Great Industrialized and Emerging Countries (G20) in Osaka when it came to promises of environmental protection.

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"In order to speak or accept anything with France, which has the best intentions, he must take back these remarks," said Bolsonaro. Previously, his presidential chief Onyx Lorenzoni had suggested, according to the news portal G1, that Brazil would not accept the help. The money may have been better spent in Europe, Lorenzoni said.

Bolsonaro did not confirm this at first. "Did I say that?" He replied to journalists in front of his residence on demand. "Did I speak, did Jair Bolsonaro talk?" The Brazilian Minister of the Environment Ricardo Salles had previously welcomed the aid commitment of the G7. However, he made it clear that the government in Brasília would decide for itself how to use the funds.

I have gotten to know President @jairbolsonaro well in our dealings with Brazil. He is working hard on the Amazon fires and doing a great job for the people of Brazil - not easy. He and his country have the full and complete support of the USA!

US President Donald Trump told Bolsonaro his support on Twitter. The Brazilian president works very hard to fight the fires and does a very good job.

"A sign of friendship"

Macron regretted the hesitant attitude of the Brazilians. The offer of help is a sign of friendship, not aggressiveness, he said. In addition, the support should benefit not only Brazil, but the entire Amazon region. Because of its overseas department of French Guiana in South America, France understands itself as an Amazon country.

The Brazilian government had repeatedly sharply attacked Macron over the past few days as the French president put the Amazon forest fires on the agenda of the G7 summit. Bolsonaro accused Macron of a "colonialist mentality," an "instrumentalization" of Amazon forest fires, and a "sensationalist tone." Recently, there was a stir about a derogatory online commentary against Macron's wife Brigitte Macron.

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Fire in South America You need to know about the fires in Brazil

Meanwhile, the forces have intensified the fire fighting in the forest fire areas. Around 2500 soldiers, 15 aircraft and helicopters and ten ships are involved in the operation, said the Ministry of Defense. In some areas, the fires have already been pushed back.

In Brazil, the heaviest forest fires have been raging for years. Since January, the number of fire and slash-and-burn operations in the largest country in South America has risen by 80 percent to more than 82,000 fires compared to the same period last year, according to the latest figures from the Brazilian space agency INPE.

Many fires were apparently laid by farmers on deforested land to create new pasture land and arable land for soybean cultivation. Because it is currently very dry, the fires also attack on intact forest areas.