The US government said on Wednesday that it did not approve the offer of $20 million in aid to Brazil made by the G7 member nations to fight the devastating wildfires in the Amazon rainforest.
Taking to Twitter, the official spokesperson for the White House National Security Council, Garrett Marquis said, “We didn’t agree to a G7 initiative that failed to include consultations with (Brazilian President) Jair Bolsonaro”.
The US stands ready to assist Brazil in efforts to combat fires in the Amazon. We didn’t agree to a G7 initiative that failed to include consultations w/ @jairbolsonaro. The most constructive way to assist w/ Brazil’s ongoing efforts is in coordination w/ the Brazilian Gov. (1/2)
— Garrett Marquis (@GMarquis45) August 28, 2019
“The most constructive way to assist with Brazil’s ongoing efforts is in coordination with the Brazilian government,” he further wrote.
“The US stands ready to assist Brazil in efforts to combat fires in the Amazon”, he added.
Earlier this week, French President Emmanuel Macron had announced that G7 countries will earmark $20 million to help fight the massive fires raging across Amazonia.
Meanwhile, US President Donald Trump has praised Bolsonaro’s handling of the fire crisis.
On Tuesday, Trump took to Twitter, saying “I have gotten to know President Bolsonaro well in our dealings with Brazil. He is working very hard on the Amazon fires and in all respects is doing a great job for the people of Brazil”.
Brazil has claimed that the fires in the Amazon were under control and that they are common at this time of year but that some countries are taking advantage of the situation to justify trade restrictions on Brazil.
Last week, tens of thousands of people gathered to the streets across Brazil where they started chanting “Burn Bolsonaro and not the Amazon”, in protest against President Jair Bolsonaro’s inaction in the face of massive wildfires that were devastating the world’s largest tropical rainforest.
During a televised address to the nation on Friday, Bolsonaro argued that forest fires “exist in the whole world” and “cannot serve as a pretext for possible international sanctions”.
The President, who took office in January has moved to roll back environmental protections and to dismantle barriers to development in indigenous reserves.
The fires in the Brazilian Amazon, which accounts for more than half of the world’s largest rainforest, have surged in number by 83 per cent this year, according to government data
Amazon rainforest in Brazil had experienced a record amount of fires this year on last Thursday— more than 74,000 outbreaks so far — which was an 84 per cent increase from the same period in 2018.
Over the past week, the number of minors requiring treatment for respiratory ailments tripled to 380 cases, according to the city authorities.