The opening of a larger US diplomatic center in Greenland yesterday was greeted by demonstrators opposing President Donald Trump's ambition for greater influence on the Arctic island, Reuters reported.
Local government ministers abstained from attending the event.
Moving from a wooden building on the outskirts of Nuuk to a much larger office in the city center, the new US consulate has drawn the attention of Greenlanders unhappy with Trump's stated desire to control the island - a semi-autonomous part of Denmark.
Greenland Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen and a number of other politicians said they were declined invitations to attend the opening of the new diplomatic mission.
"We haven't made a decision in principle, but I won't be participating," Nielsen said.
Several hundred people protested outside the consulate, waving the island's red-and-white flag and signs reading "USA, stop" while chanting "No" means "no" and "Greenland belongs to the Greenlanders".
The new location has greater capacity and offers a unique location for U.S. diplomatic engagement in Greenland, a State Department spokesman said.
In January, the White House announced that Trump was considering how to acquire Greenland, including potentially using the U.S. military, which raised concerns among NATO allies in Europe, although talks have since shifted to a diplomatic direction.
The Greenland government on Monday said progress had been made in high-stakes talks over the territory's future amid U.S. threats of annexation, adding that the giant island belongs to its people and will never be for sale.
"We will always be neighbors and we will be there for you, whatever future you decide for yourself, as your allies and partners," U.S. Ambassador to Denmark Kenneth Howery said in a speech at the ceremony. opening.
Trump has described Greenland, an island of 57,000 people, as strategically vital to countering Russia and China in the Arctic. The United States currently has one active military base there, compared with about 17 facilities in 1945.