Rubio said Saturday that Trump's waiver of sweeping sanctions and tariffs on Russia amounts to a 60-day pause, one the president intends to use to work out the consequences of actually putting the measures in place. The economic restrictions, he noted, touch a number of countries beyond Russia itself.

Trump signed an executive order on Friday exempting Russia from the restrictions two days before the law was due to take effect, and lawmakers from both parties reacted with sharp criticism. Late Saturday, Trump said the decision would benefit the United States, though it remained unclear whether he had made up his mind. "It's a very good decision, and it's going to be a decision that's good for the country," he said.

A pause to weigh economic impact

Rubio framed the move as a deliberate pause rather than a reversal. The president wants to take the 60-day period to analyze what imposing both sanctions and tariffs will mean to the global and US economies, he said.

Conflicts driving energy prices

Rubio also argued that Russia is not the only factor shaping the economic picture. He pointed to conflicts affecting 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," Rubio said, describing the combined effect on global oil and diesel prices and on economies.

The law Trump waived

The measures Trump suspended were adopted by Congress last month. The law passed in September and was signed by Trump himself. Its main provisions:

• •Sanctions targeting Russian officials, oligarchs and financial institutions
• •Authority for Trump to sanction major buyers of Russian oil and gas
• •An aim of cutting off sources of funding to supporters of Russian President Vladimir Putin and his war on Ukraine

Under the waiver signed late Friday, Russia is exempt from those economic restrictions during the pause.

Criticism and diesel exports

The decision drew rebukes from Trump's own party as well as from Democrats. "Beyond irresponsible," Republican Senator Thom Tillis, a frequent Trump critic who leaves office in January, wrote in a post on X.

Tillis argued that Trump could bring down energy prices by solving the Iran problem rather than doing a favour for Putin. Senator Ted Cruz of Texas, speaking on Fox News, called the move "a mistake".

The waiver followed a deal Trump struck with Putin to allow exports of Russian diesel in exchange for easing of sanctions. On that point, Rubio said the diesel Putin was to sell would reach the global market regardless, and that the only question was how much of it the United States was going to get.