Members of Congress attending an international security forum said Secretary of State Marco Rubio called them to say the Americans did not instigate the proposal.
Army Secretary Dan Driscoll told a group of European ambassadors that the continent couldn't match the Russian defense industry's output, and the time for settling had arrived.
The destruction caused by the summer storms was enough that past presidents likely would have approved requests for federal assistance, former FEMA officials said.
Nearly two weeks of talks in the Amazon ended with commitments to do more, but no firm movement on the most divisive issues -- including turning away from fossil fuels.