Washington, Jan. 8 -- US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said he plans to meet with Danish officials next week after the Trump administration doubled down on its intention to take over Greenland, the strategic Arctic island that is a self-governing territory of Denmark. President Donald Trump has argued that the US needs to control the world's largest island to ensure its own security in the face of rising threats from China and Russia in the Arctic, and the White House has refused to rule out using military force to acquire the territory. Rubio told a select group of lawmakers that it was the administration's intention to eventually purchase Greenland, as opposed to using military force. The remarks, first reported by the Wall Street Journal, were made in a classified briefing on Monday evening on Capitol Hill. On Wednesday, Rubio told reporters that Trump has been talking about acquiring Greenland since his first term. "That's always been the president's intent from the very beginning," Rubio said. "He's not the first US president that has examined or looked at how we could acquire Greenland." Tensions with Nato members escalated after the White House said on Tuesday that the "US military is always an option." aP...