Trump aides defend Russia sanctions pause as diesel holds at $6.32

Rubio's reason: Secretary of State Marco Rubio told reporters Saturday that the waiver is a 60-day pause. "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," he said, per AFP. On the diesel deal, he said Russia would have sold the fuel "one way or the other," and "the only difference is how much of it the United States was going to get."

Wright's reason: Energy Secretary Chris Wright told ABC's "This Week" on Sunday that the diesel move is "a carrot to try to end a war. It's not an economic lifeline for Russia." He said Russia "exports today zero diesel" and would gain only if it scaled back the war or repaired refineries through a peace step. Asked about critics, Wright said, "they are all wrong. They don't understand what President Trump's doing."

The pushback: Six Republican senators, including Mitch McConnell, John Cornyn and Susan Collins, joined six Democrats last week in asking Trump to rescind the diesel deal, Fox News reported. Their letter called it "a gift to our adversary" with "negligible impact" on prices. Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) called the move "a mistake" on Fox News. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called the waiver "wrong," ABC reported.

The diesel stakes: AAA put the national average for diesel at $6.32 a gallon on Sunday, up from $6.28 a week ago and $3.64 a year ago. The record is $6.53, set Sept. 22. Regular gasoline averaged $4.30. Trump announced the diesel deal Oct. 9, saying Russia would supply 300,000 metric tons right away and more later; Treasury's license runs through April 7, 2027, Fox News reported.

Will it lower prices? Analysts quoted by Fox News doubt it. Masha Kotkin of the Center for Strategic and International Studies called Russia's diesel "a drop in the bucket compared to global demand." Sergey Vakulenko of the Carnegie Russia Eurasia Center estimated Russian diesel available for export fell from about 3 million tons a month in April to about 325,000 tons in September, after Ukrainian drone strikes on refineries.

From the order: "The waivers described in subsections (a) through (c) of this section shall remain in effect until such time as the President or the Secretary of State, in consultation with the Secretary of the Treasury and the Trade Representative, as appropriate, determine that further action is appropriate."

What the evidence shows: The order Trump signed sets no 60-day limit. Its text keeps the waivers in place until the president or the secretary of state decides further action is appropriate, so Rubio's 60-day timeline is a stated intention, not a written deadline. (White House, Oct. 16.)

What's still unknown: Whether Russia will export more diesel at all while Ukrainian strikes continue. Whether the White House will reimpose any Graham Act measures after 60 days. Whether Congress has the votes to block the diesel license.

Wright's quotes come from ABC News' "This Week" transcript. Rubio's Saturday remarks to reporters and Trump's Saturday comment come from France 24/AFP and RTE reports. Diesel volumes, the Treasury license date and analyst estimates come from Fox News reporting; we have not independently confirmed them. The executive order text is from the White House.