Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro blasted his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron Thursday as having a 'colonialist mentality' for rallying G-7 countries to address wildfires raging in the Amazon rainforest. (Photo: File)

Rio De Janeiro: Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro blasted his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron Thursday as having a "colonialist mentality" for rallying G-7 countries to address wildfires raging in the Amazon rainforest.

"The French president's suggestion that Amazon issues be discussed at the G-7 without participation by the countries in the region evokes a colonialist mentality that is out of place in the 21st century," Bolsonaro wrote on Twitter.

Macron tweeted earlier Thursday that fires burning in the Amazon amount to an international crisis and should be discussed as a top priority when the G-7 countries meet this weekend in France.