1 although agreeing at first to the peace plan, they soon began to backpedal:
change one's mind, change one's opinion, go into reverse, do an about-face, do a U-turn, row back, shift one's ground, sing a different song, have second thoughts, reconsider, climb down;
British do an about-turn.
2 the president backpedaled on his promises to tax foreign companies heavily:
renege on, back down on, go back on, back out of, fail to honor, withdraw, backtrack on, row back on, take back, abandon, default on.
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