Trump to Convey Brazil’s Positioning at the G7 Summit

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – The president of the United States, Donald Trump, has volunteered to convey the Brazilian positioning to the G7 meeting, convened by the president of France, Emmanuel Macron, to discuss the forest fires in the Amazon.

According to a high-ranking source in president Jair Bolsonaro‘s government, Brazil also relies on the support of the United Kingdom, Italy, and Japan, which are part of the G7, as well as Spain, Chile, Argentina, and Peru.

Germany and Canada are also part of the G7, to meet from Saturday to Monday in Biarritz (Southwest of France). The European Union is equally represented, and authorities from Spain and Chile will be present at the summit as guests.

Late on Friday afternoon, Trump spoke about the fires in the Amazon. He stated he was ready to help contain the fires and said he had talked to Jair Bolsonaro by phone. Among the threats made by some European countries to establish trade barriers against Brazil, as a result of the fires and the Brazilian environmental policy, the American president emphasized that the “prospects for trade are very encouraging” for Brazil and the USA.

Macron’s call for the meeting on Thursday angered the Brazilian government. On social media, the French leader wrote: “Our house is on fire. Literally. The Amazon rainforest – the lung that produces twenty percent of our oxygen — is on fire. It is an international crisis.”

Bolsonaro reacted, calling Macron a colonialist, stating that the Frenchman intends to manipulate an internal affair in Brazil for personal ends.

“The U.S. has also pledged to argue that the Amazon should only be discussed with the presence and active participation of Brazil, should Macron address the issue at the G7,” said the source.

China discreetly expressed its sympathy for Brazil on Friday. The number two of the Chinese embassy in Brasília, Qu Yuhui, praised the Brazilian environmental policy and said his country would be interested in negotiating a free trade agreement with the Brazilians.

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