'When saliva runs out, one has to have gunpowder,' Brazil's Jair Bolsonaro says in swipe at Joe Biden

Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro, who portrays himself as a close friend of US President Donald Trump, took a swipe at President-elect Joe Biden, referring to Biden as a "candidate" and assailing him for his stand on the Amazon rainforest.

Bolsonaro is one of a small group of prominent world leaders yet to congratulate Biden, who won last week's presidential election and is due to enter the White House on January 20.

Speaking at an event on Tuesday, Bolsonaro took issue with Biden's call during a US presidential debate in September for Brazil to fight deforestation with foreign help or face unspecified "economic consequences."

"We saw recently there a great candidate to head of state say that if I don't put out the fire in the Amazon, he will put up commercial barriers against Brazil," Bolsonaro said.

"And how can we deal with all that? Just diplomacy is not enough ... When saliva runs out, one has to have gunpowder, otherwise, it doesn't work."

The Brazilian leader's comments could herald a rocky start in relations with Biden, whose agenda with Brazil could be topped by Amazon deforestation and human rights.