Brazil's defence minister says the fires in the Amazon rainforest were 'not out of control'
Firefighters work to put out fires along the road to Jacunda National Forest, near the city of Porto Velho in the Vila Nova Samuel region, which is part of Brazil's Amazon rainforest, on Monday. Pic/AP/PTI
Brasilia: Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro has rejected a $22 million aid package offered by G7 countries to help battle fierce forest fires in the Amazon rainforest. French President Emmanuel Macron had announced the aid on Monday.
Rejecting the aid, Bolsonaro said on Monday that Brazil was not a "colonial territory" and that there was "a hidden agenda" behind Macron's offer.
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Bolsonaro's defence minister said the fires in the Amazon were "not out of control". Commenting on the G7 offer of aid, Bolsonaro's Chief of Staff Onyx Lorenzoni told the Globo news website, "Thanks, but maybe those resources are more relevant to reforest Europe."
"Macron cannot even avoid a predictable fire in a church that is part of the world's heritage, and he wants to give us lessons for our country?" Lorenzoni added. Brazil's Foreign Minister Ernesto Araujo tweeted: "No one needs a 'new initiative for the Amazon' as Macron suggests when there are already several mechanisms under the UN Climate Convention to fund the fight against deforestation."
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