Blazing Amazon Fire: Brazil President Rejects $20M Aid, Says French President Must Apologize First ”Then We Can Talk”

 – Blogged By @DanielleBTV 

Brazilian President Bolsonaro says Brazil will only accept an offer of international aid to fight Amazon fires if French leader Emmanuel Macron apologizes for his disrespectful comments.

“Before speaking or accepting anything from France, even if it comes from the best possible intentions, he must retract his words. Then we can talk,” #Bolsonaro told journalists.

According to the Associated Press, Bolsonaro said #Macron called him a liar and questioned Brazil’s sovereignty amid tensions over fires sweeping the Amazon region.

Bolsonaro’s comments came a day after the Group of Seven nations pledged $20 million to help fight the flames in the Amazon and protect the rainforest, in addition to a separate $12 million from Britain and $11 million from Canada, according to the Associated Press. 

Bolsonaro and Macron have engaged in a days-long feud after the French leader called for action to protect the Amazon and said the fires are a world environmental crisis that Bolsonaro has allowed to worsen. He also said Bolsonaro, a climate change skeptic, had lied about his effort to combat deforestation.

Bolsonaro responded angrily, saying Macron insulted him and was trying to undermine Brazil’s sovereignty by intervening in the Amazon.

The French leader said in a speech Tuesday that Bolsonaro’s interpretation was a “mistake.”

Macron said the money isn’t just aimed at Brazil but also at nine other countries in the Amazon region, including Bolivia, Colombia and France also considers itself an Amazon country via its overseas region of French Guiana.

– Thank you, President @realDonaldTrump. We’re fighting the wildfires with great success. Brazil is and will always be an international reference in sustainable development. The fake news campaign built against our sovereignty will not work. The US can always count on Brazil. ? https://t.co/ZicUKsYGcx

— Jair M. Bolsonaro (@jairbolsonaro) August 27, 2019

The Amazon is the largest rainforest in the world, and it spans across a number of countries, but the majority of it falls within Brazil.