The Trump administration never agreed to G7 financial aid for the Amazon fires, spokesman says

Getty Images; Reuters

• The Trump administration did not agree to the $20 million financial aid package offered to Brazil to help battle wildfires raging in the Amazon rainforest, National Security Council spokesman Garrett Marquis said Wednesday.
• "We didn’t agree to a G7 initiative that failed to include consultations with [Bolsonaro]," Marquis wrote in a tweet. "The most constructive way to assist with Brazil’s ongoing efforts is in coordination with the Brazilian [government]."
• Trump was not present for the session at the G7 summit regarding biodiversity and climate on Monday, but French President Emmanuel Macron said that "his team" attended the meeting.
• Visit Business Insider’s homepage for more stories.

The Trump administration did not agree to the $20 million financial aid package discussed at the G7 summit to help Brazil battle wildfires raging in the Amazon rainforest, a National Security Council spokesman said Wednesday.

NSC spokesman Garrett Marquis wrote in a statement on Twitter Wednesday that discussions surrounding the emergency aid package failed to include Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro. Nonetheless, "the US stands ready to assist Brazil in efforts to combat fires in the Amazon," he wrote.

"We didn’t agree to a G7 initiative that failed to include consultations with [Bolsonaro]," Marquis wrote. "The most constructive way to assist with Brazil’s ongoing efforts is in coordination with the Brazilian [government]."

He added in a separate tweet, "The United States has a strong history of meaningful engagement in Brazil on conservation, forestry, and biodiversity, including the $80 million Partnership for Conservation of Amazon Biodiversity."

The statement echoed a similar sentiment from the president last week, who tweeted that he met with Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro and told him the US stands "ready to assist" with the Amazon wildfires.

Read more: Trump volunteers US to ‘help’ with fires in the Amazon after conversation with Brazil President Bolsonaro, who has been slow to fight them

Ludovic Marin/AFP/Getty Images

Trump was not present for the session regarding biodiversity and climate on Monday at the G7 summit due to scheduling conflicts, but Macron said that "his team" attended the meeting, The New York Times reported.

"He wasn’t in the room, but his team was," Macron told The Times. "You shouldn’t read anything into the American president’s absence… The United States is with us on biodiversity and on the Amazon initiative."

French President Emmanuel Macron announced at the G7 summit hosted in Biarritz, France, this weekend that it was offering $20 million in emergency aid to Brazil, amid tensions between him and Bolsonaro.

The Brazilian president initially did not accept the financial aid package, calling it "colonialist and imperialist," but walked back on the rejection on the condition that Macron apologize for saying Bolsonaro was "extraordinarily rude."

The White House did not immediately respond to emails from Business Insider for comment.

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See Also:

• Brazil’s president said he would accept $20 million from the G7 to tackle the Amazon fires, but only if Emmanuel Macron apologizes for calling him ‘extraordinarily rude’
• Brazil rejected a $20 million donation from the G7 to fight the Amazon fires, calling the gesture ‘colonialist and imperialist’
• Trump never made it to the G7 climate meeting, and world leaders say they are giving up on bringing the US back into the Paris accords

SEE ALSO: Brazil’s president said he would accept $20 million from the G7 to tackle the Amazon fires, but only if Emmanuel Macron apologizes for calling him ‘extraordinarily rude’

Source: Business Insider – feedback@businessinsider.com (Lauren Frias)