The month-long reprieve announced last Friday was meant to cool soaring energy prices, the treasury secretary has said The US decision to extend sanctions relief for Russian oil was taken to prevent crude prices from exploding amid the Iran war and followed pleas from energy-vulnerable countries, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has said. Testifying before a Senate appropriations subcommittee on Wednesday, Bessent defended last week’s U‑turn to prolong a general license allowing deliveries of Russian oil and petroleum products that were already loaded on tankers. The waiver, which runs until May 16, follows an earlier 30‑day relaxation that expired on April 11. Bessent said that during the IMF and World Bank spring meetings in Washington he was approached by finance ministers and central bank chiefs from “more than ten of the most vulnerable and poorest countries in terms of energy,” who asked the US to extend sanctions relief for another month.…