US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has defended President Donald Trump's waiver of sweeping sanctions and tariffs on Russia, confirming that the measure represents a 60-day pause designed to assess its broader economic consequences.
"The president wants to take the 60-day period of time to sort of analyse what imposing both sanctions and tariffs will mean to the global economy and even to the US economy," Rubio said, noting that the restrictions affect several nations.
Rubio attributed soaring global energy prices to colliding international conflicts, citing the US war on Iran and Houthi strikes on Saudi Arabia: "These conflicts around the world are starting to crash into each other, and they're having an impact not just on global oil and diesel prices but on economies as well."
Trump described the decision late on Saturday as beneficial to the United States: "It's a very good decision, and it's going to be a decision that's good for the country, and I think good for the world."
Bipartisan criticism
The executive order, signed on Friday, triggered immediate condemnation from lawmakers across both political parties.
The legislation passed by Congress in September had mandated sanctions against Russian officials, oligarchs, and financial entities, whilst giving the president authority to penalise major buyers of Russian energy to curb Kremlin revenues.
Republican Senator Thom Tillis called the waiver "beyond irresponsible" on X, adding: "If the President wants to actually bring down energy prices, he can do it by solving the Iran problem, not by doing a solid for Vladimir Putin."
Republican Senator Ted Cruz described the move as "a mistake" on Fox News.
The waiver follows an agreement between Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin to permit Russian diesel exports in exchange for eased economic measures.
Steep fuel costs are impacting US road haulage, agriculture, and construction ahead of key midterm elections next month, where polls indicate Republicans face substantial electoral headwinds.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy warned that the move directly rewards Moscow.
