Jair Bolsonaro says he never claimed NGOs were starting fires and adds that he was talking only of his suspicions.
The states worst affected this year are Mato Grosso, Para and Amazonas, which fall within the Amazon region
Some audience members at the event - which Mr Salles tried to cancel earlier this year - shouted and waved placards emblazoned with the words"stop ecocide" and"the Amazon is burning".Pressure has been growing on the Brazilian government after the country's official monitoring agency reported a sharp increase in Amazon wildfires this year.
Mr Bolsonaro, who once threatened to leave the Paris climate accord, has previously attacked environmental groups, which have been seen as obstacles in the leader's quest to develop the country's full economic potential, even in protected areas.Jair Bolsonaro and Ricardo Salles have been calling for more development in the Amazon region
On Thursday, the Brazilian president tweeted a thread by presidential adviser Filipe G Martins, who said"there's a reason why Brazil has the best environmental credentials and the best preserved forests in the word : we know how to protect and take care of what is ours".
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