Merkel backs Macronâs call for G7 talks on Amazon fires
German chancellor âconvinced of emergencyâ but Brazilâs leader accuses European leaders of colonialism
Angela Merkel has backed Emmanuel Macronâs call to put the fires in the Amazon on the agenda at this weekendâs G7 summit, after the French president said the situation amounted to an international crisis.
Steffen Seibert, a spokesman for the German chancellor, told journalists in Berlin on Friday: âThe extent of the fires in the Amazon area is shocking and threatening, not only for Brazil and the other affected countries, but also for the whole world.
âWhen the G7 comes together this weekend, then the chancellor is convinced that this acute emergency in the Amazon rainforest belongs on the agenda.â
Macronâs intervention had prompted a furious response from his Brazilian counterpart, Jair Bolsonaro. âI regret that President Macron seeks to take advantage of what is a domestic Brazilian issue and of other Amazonian countries for personal political gain,â the rightwing leader tweeted, targeting what he called Macronâs âsensationalist toneâ.
In a second tweet, he said: âThe French presidentâs suggestion that Amazonian matters be discussed at the G7 without the involvement of countries of the region recalls the colonialist mindset that is unacceptable in the 21st century.â
Later, Brazilâs foreign minister, Ernesto AraĂșjo, weighed in with a thread on Twitter, condemning the âsavage and unfairâ international campaign against his nation. AraĂșjo claimed the campaign was being waged âbecause President Bolsonaroâs government is rebuilding Brazilâ.
He added: âThe âenvironmental crisisâ appears to be the last weapon left in the arsenal of leftist lies to smother this fact.â
Earlier one of Bolsonaroâs top foreign advisers also tweeted a reprimand to foreign meddlers. âGod does not like liars,â Filipe Martins wrote in a series of posts rebutting international criticism.
Bolsonaroâs politician son, Eduardo, continued the offensive, tweeting a YouTube video called âMacron is an idiotâ to his 1.6 million followers.