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America's Secretary of the Army, Daniel Driscoll, was an unlikely diplomat for the White House's newest initiative to end the Russian invasion in Ukraine. Driscoll's strong connection with Vice President Vance has placed a key ally of the Euroskeptic VP at the forefront of President Trump's latest effort to conclude the war.

Before his recent visit to Kyiv, Driscoll was not known as a negotiator or statesman, and his early attempts to promote the deal to European policymakers were labeled chaotic.

His close relationship with Vance, who he studied and maintains a close friendship, indicate the resurgence of the non-interventionist vice-president in talks to resolve the Ukraine war.

Vance's Involvement in Ceasefire Negotiations

This was Vance who stepped in during Volodymyr Zelenskyy rocky initial visit to the Trump White House in March and demanded he show Trump more courtesy. Currently, Ukraine is again resisting pressure from the US to accept a quick settlement that local officials have called a surrender.

Following a chaotic initial year in office, foreign policy decisions in the White House are reportedly shaped by a small group of Trump's key advisers, including top aide Susie Wiles, conservative adviser Stephen Miller, envoy Steve Witkoff, secretary of state Marco Rubio, and of course Vance.

Vance has been a vocal supporter of the recent proposal, which was crafted by Witkoff and Trump's relative Jared Kushner, together with the Kremlin envoy Kirill Dmitriev.

“All criticism of the peace framework the White House is developing either misinterprets the proposal or misrepresents some key situation on the ground,” Vance wrote.

Early Efforts and European Responses

Vance's early attempts at negotiating a peace deal with Russia, while simultaneously attempting to restore relations with Moscow, were fruitless and left his team feeling frustrated with their Russian counterparts. Leaders in Europe, meanwhile, were irritated by his early speeches, in which he accused them of ignoring their constituents, who Vance claimed held anti-immigration and conservative views close to those of Trump's own constituency.

But, the new ceasefire proposal closely resembled his positions, and he has been one of the most forceful spokespeople for the deal in the government, even as the US has been criticized for endorsing a ceasefire plan that largely resembles Vladimir Putin's extreme demands.

In posts this weekend, Vance asserted that a ceasefire agreement would have to establish a ceasefire that honored Ukrainian independence, be acceptable to each party, and prevent the war from restarting.

“Peace will not be made by failed diplomats or officials residing in a fantasy land,” he added. “It might be made by intelligent people operating in the real world.”

Additionally, it was Vance who followed up on the introduction of the peace plan in a conversation with Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Trump had primarily tasked his team with securing a agreement on the peace deal before Thanksgiving this week in the United States.

Rubio's Response and Private Doubts

That was a notably more full-throated support of the proposal than that expressed by the top diplomat and national security adviser, Marco Rubio, a more conventional hawk in the administration who has transitioned from a uncertain stature inside the White House to more firm footing.

Rubio was part of a US team that went to Geneva this past weekend to meet with Ukrainian leaders to help refine the initial 28-point ceasefire proposal in order to make it more acceptable to authorities in Kyiv.

But, his first reaction to the deal was tepid:

“Ending a complicated and violent war such as the one in Ukraine requires an thorough exchange of substantive and realistic ideas,” Rubio stated over the weekend. “Furthermore, securing a lasting peace will necessitate both sides to consent to challenging but essential concessions. That is why we are and will continue to create a list of possible ideas for resolving this conflict based on input from each party of this conflict.”

In private, he was said to be much more doubtful of the proposal. The Republican senator Mike Rounds said last week at the Halifax International Security Forum in Nova Scotia that Rubio had called legislators to clarify that the agreement was merely a preliminary proposal from the Russians and not an plan advocated by the White House.

“Rubio did make a phone call to us this day and I think he emphasized to us that we are the recipients of a offer that was presented to one of our representatives,” said Rounds. “The document is not our recommendation, it is not our peace plan.”

Rubio moved quickly to align himself. “This ceasefire plan was authored by the US,” he later wrote. “It is presented as a solid framework for ongoing negotiations. The proposal is derived from input from the Russian side. However, it is additionally based on earlier and current input from Ukraine.”