DOMINANT ANGLE
London is measuring Macron's proposal for a moratorium based on its immediate effect on fuel prices, more than as a simple diplomatic gesture.
Dominant angle identified — does not reflect unanimity of this country’s media
KEY POINTS
- 01
US diesel has reached a record $6.51 on Monday, compared to around $3.76 before the war, according to the AAA (Daily Mail).
- 02
Trump wrote on Truth Social that a large number of Russian diesel refineries "have been destroyed and are, at least temporarily, out of service", after warning that Russia had "lost control" of its oil industry.
- 03
Zelensky is set to meet Trump on Tuesday to discuss a limited ceasefire protecting heating and electricity ahead of winter, after meeting Macron on Monday evening on the same subject.
ANALYSIS
London, Tuesday, 22 September 2026. The British press is covering the meeting between Emmanuel Macron and Donald Trump less as a diplomatic exercise than as a signal about fuel prices. According to The Independent, Volodymyr Zelensky arrived in New York with his wife Olena Zelenska for the UN General Assembly, where Ukraine wants to secure a freeze on strikes against the energy sector and a new agreement on drones. Zelensky is set to meet Trump on Tuesday to discuss a limited ceasefire protecting heating and electricity ahead of winter. Macron, who also arrived in New York, met with Zelensky on Monday evening and stressed the urgency of stopping strikes against energy infrastructure, as millions of Ukrainian families risk being left without heating or electricity.
The underlying theme retained by London, however, remains oil. Trump warned that Russia had "unfortunately lost control" of its oil industry, urging Kiev to stop its long-range strikes on refineries. "A large number of their diesel refineries have been destroyed and are, at the very least, temporarily out of service," he wrote on Truth Social. A senior White House official indicated, according to the Financial Times cited by The Independent, that Trump fears these strikes will exacerbate a global diesel shortage and drive up prices.
The Daily Mail goes further and directly links the surge in prices to Trump's own war against Iran: American diesel reached a record $6.51 on Monday, compared to around $3.76 before the war, according to the AAA. The newspaper recalls that US and Israeli strikes against Iran have effectively closed the Strait of Hormuz, through which about a fifth of the world's oil supply passes. According to a Ukrainian official cited by the Financial Times, Trump's message during a call with Zelensky boiled down to a single repeated word: "diesel, diesel... diesel". A second official clarifies that Washington wants to see Russian oil return to the global market to bring prices down.
For the British press, the pressure on fuel prices, just weeks ahead of the US midterm elections, weighs as heavily in Trump's calculations as the Ukrainian diplomacy being promoted by Macron.
