The U.S. opening of a larger diplomatic hub in Greenland on Thursday was met by demonstrators opposed to President Donald Trump’s ambition for greater influence in the Arctic island, while local government ministers shied away from the event.
Moving from a wooden cabin on the outskirts of Nuuk to a much larger downtown office, the new United States consulate has become a focal point for Greenlanders unhappy with Trump’s stated desire to control the island, a semi-autonomous part of Denmark.
Greenland’s Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen and a series of other politicians said that they had declined invitations to attend the opening of the new diplomatic mission.
“We haven’t made a decision in principle, but I won’t participate,” Nielsen told local daily Sermitsiaq.
Several hundred people demonstrated outside the consulate, carrying the island’s red and white flag and posters that said “USA, stop it”, while chanting “No means no” and “Greenland belongs to the Greenlanders”.
The new venue has greater capacity and offers an outstanding space for U.S. diplomatic engagement in Greenland, a State Department spokesperson said.
The White House in January said Trump was considering how to acquire Greenland, including a potential use of the U.S. military, setting off alarm bells among NATO allies in Europe, although talks have since been moved to a diplomatic track.
Greenland’s government said on Monday that progress had been made in the high-stakes talks over the future of the territory amid U.S. threats of annexation, adding that the giant island belongs to its people and will never be for sale.