BRASILIA 28 Aug (ANA) - The governors of the nine Brazilian states most affected by a record number of fires have urged President Jair Bolsonaro to accept foreign aid to fight the blazes.

 

Mr Bolsonaro had earlier refused a G7 offer of $22m (£18m) following a spat with French President Emmanuel Macron.

 

But following a meeting between the governors and Mr Bolsonaro, the government shifted its position on aid.

 

It said it would accept it as long as it had control of what to spend it on.

 

A record number of fires are burning in Brazil, most of them in the Amazon region. The Amazon is a vital carbon store that slows down the pace of global warming.

 

President Bolsonaro said last week that his government lacked the resources to fight the fires.

 

As international concern over the fires spread, leaders of the seven leading industrial nations meeting in France offered $22m to help fight the fires.

 

President Macron, who was hosting the summit, said the funds would be made available immediately - primarily to pay for more firefighting planes.

 

But President Bolsonaro rejected the offer arguing that the G7 countries were treating Brazil like "a colony or a no-man's land".(ANA)

FA/ANA/28 August 2019--------