DAVOS, Switzerland - US President Donald Trump abruptly stepped back on Jan 21 from threats to impose tariffs as leverage to seize Greenland, ruled out the use of force, and said a deal was in sight to end a dispute over the Danish territory that risked the deepest rupture in transatlantic relations in decades.

On a whirlwind trip to the World Economic Forum annual meeting in Davos, Switzerland, Mr Trump backed down from weeks of rhetoric that shook the NATO alliance and risked a new global trade war.