US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Saturday that President Donald Trump's waiver of sweeping sanctions and tariffs on Russia would be a 60-day pause to "analyse" their impact on the global economy.
"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 economic restrictions involved a number of countries, not just Russia.
He said various conflicts were impacting global energy prices, including the US war on Iran and attacks on Saudi Arabia by Yemen's Houthis.
"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, Rubio said.
Trump said late Saturday his decision would benefit the US, though it was unclear if he had actually made up his mind on the matter.
"We'll figure it out, and you'll figure it out," he said. "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."
US lawmakers on both sides of the political aisle have sharply criticised Trump after he signed an executive order Friday that waived sweeping sanctions and tariffs targeting Russia – measures adopted by Congress last month.
Read moreZelensky fears Trump 'will continue' to lift Russia sanctions
The law passed in September, and signed by Trump, included sanctions targeting Russian officials, oligarchs and financial institutions, and provided Trump with the authority to impose sanctions on major buyers of Russian oil and gas.
The idea was to cut off sources of funding to supporters of Russian President Vladimir Putin, as well as his war on Ukraine.
But late Friday, two days before the law was due to take effect, Trump exempted Russia from those economic restrictions.
"Beyond irresponsible," Republican Senator Thom Tillis, a frequent Trump critic who will leave office in January, said in a post on X.
"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."
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Ted Cruz, a senior Republican senator from Texas, called the move "a mistake" in comments aired on Fox News.
Trump's executive order came after he struck a deal with Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin to allow exports of Russian diesel in exchange for the easing of sanctions.
The impact of steep diesel price hikes due to the Iran war are beginning to filter into the US economy, and cost of living worries are top of mind for voters ahead of key midterm elections next month.
Polls show Trump's Republicans are likely to receive a drubbing at the polls.
"The diesel that Putin was going to sell, they were (going to) make it available to the global market one way or the other. The only difference is how much of it the United States was going to get," Rubio said, underscoring the importance of the vital fuel powering US road hauling, agriculture and construction.
Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky said he feared the United States would lift more sanctions on Russia and that Trump's action "rewards" Putin.
(FRANCE 24 with AFP)