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America's Secretary of the Army, Daniel Driscoll, was an surprising diplomat for the White House's latest initiative to resolve the Russian invasion in Ukraine. Driscoll's strong relationship with Vice President Vance has placed a close associate of the Euroskeptic VP at the center of Donald Trump recent effort to settle the conflict.

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

His close ties with Vance, who he studied and shares a personal bond, signal the resurgence of the isolationist VP in negotiations to end the Ukraine war.

Vance's Role in Ceasefire Efforts

It was Vance who stepped in during Ukraine's president's rocky initial trip to the White House in March and insisted he show Trump more respect. Currently, Ukraine is once again resisting pressure from the US to agree to a quick deal that local officials have described as a surrender.

Following a chaotic first year in power, international actions in the White House are reportedly influenced by a handful of Trump's top aides, such as top aide Susie Wiles, rightwing advisor Stephen Miller, envoy Steve Witkoff, State Department head Marco Rubio, and finally Vance.

Vance has been a vocal supporter of the latest plan, which was developed by Witkoff and Trump's relative Jared Kushner, alongside the Russian diplomat Kirill Dmitriev.

“All objection of the peace framework the White House is working on either misinterprets the framework or misrepresents some key situation on the ground,” the VP stated.

Initial Attempts and European Responses

Vance's initial attempts at hammering out a ceasefire agreement with Russia, while simultaneously seeking to restore ties with Moscow, were fruitless and left his camp feeling frustrated with their Russian interlocutors. Leaders in Europe, meanwhile, were irritated by his initial speeches, in which he accused them of running from their voters, who Vance claimed held restrictionist and right-leaning positions similar to those of Trump's own supporters.

But, the new peace deal mirrored his stances, and he has been one of the most forceful advocates for the deal in the administration, even as the US has been under fire for accepting a ceasefire plan that mostly echoes Vladimir Putin's maximalist demands.

In posts this weekend, Vance argued that a peace deal would have to produce a truce that honored Ukrainian sovereignty, be acceptable to each party, and prevent the conflict from restarting.

“A ceasefire won’t be made by unsuccessful diplomats or politicians living in a dream world,” he continued. “It might be made by smart people living in the actual situation.”

Additionally, it was Vance who followed up on the presentation of the peace plan in a phone call with Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Trump had mainly instructed his staff with obtaining a agreement on the peace deal before Thanksgiving this week in the United States.

Rubio's Reaction and Private Doubts

Vance's stance was a notably more full-throated endorsement of the proposal than that expressed by the top diplomat and security advisor, Marco Rubio, a more conventional hardliner in the government who has gone from a shaky stature inside the administration to more firm standing.

Rubio was a member of a US delegation that traveled to Geneva this weekend to meet with Ukrainian leaders to help moderate 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 deadly war such as the one in Ukraine requires an extensive exchange of serious and realistic ideas,” Rubio wrote recently. “And, achieving a durable peace will require both sides to consent to difficult but essential compromises. This is the reason we are and will continue to develop a set of potential solutions 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 plan. The GOP lawmaker Mike Rounds said recently at the Halifax International Security Forum in Nova Scotia that Rubio had contacted lawmakers to clarify that the deal was just a initial offer from the Russians and not an plan pushed by the White House.

“The Secretary made a call to us this afternoon and I think he made it very clear to us that we are the recipients of a offer that was delivered to one of our officials,” stated Rounds. “It is not our recommendation, it is not our ceasefire proposal.”

Rubio acted swiftly to fall in line. “This ceasefire plan was written by the US,” he subsequently wrote. “The framework is presented as a solid structure for continuing discussions. It is derived from input from the Russian side. But, it is additionally informed by previous and ongoing contributions from Ukraine.”