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The US Secretary of the Army, Daniel Driscoll, was an surprising envoy for the White House's latest proposal to resolve the Russian invasion in Ukraine. Driscoll's strong connection with JD Vance has positioned a close associate of the Eurosceptic vice-president at the forefront of President Trump's latest effort to settle the war.

Prior to his recent visit to Kyiv, Driscoll was unrecognized as a negotiator or statesman, and his initial efforts to promote the agreement to European policymakers were described as turbulent.

Driscoll's strong relationship with Vance, who he attended Yale and maintains a personal bond, indicate the resurgence of the isolationist VP in talks to resolve the Ukraine crisis.

The VP's Involvement in Peace Efforts

This was Vance who stepped in during Volodymyr Zelenskyy disastrous first trip to the Trump White House in March and demanded he show Trump more respect. Now, Ukraine is again resisting pressure from the US to accept a swift settlement that Ukrainian leaders have called a surrender.

Following a chaotic first year in office, international actions in the White House are said to be influenced by a handful of Trump's top aides, including chief of staff Susie Wiles, rightwing advisor Stephen Miller, envoy Steve Witkoff, secretary of state Marco Rubio, and finally Vance.

Vance has been a outspoken supporter of the recent plan, which was crafted by Witkoff and Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner, together with the Russian diplomat Kirill Dmitriev.

“All criticism of the peace framework the administration is working on either misunderstands the framework or misrepresents some key situation on the ground,” the VP stated.

Early Attempts and European Responses

Vance's early attempts at negotiating a peace deal with Russia, while also attempting to restore ties with Moscow, were unsuccessful and left his camp feeling disappointed with their Russian counterparts. European officials, in turn, were irritated by his initial remarks, in which he accused them of ignoring their voters, who Vance said held anti-immigration and right-leaning positions close to those of Trump's own constituency.

However, the new ceasefire proposal closely resembled his positions, and he has been one of the most assertive spokespeople for the deal in the government, even as the US has been criticized for accepting a peace framework that mostly echoes Vladimir Putin's extreme demands.

In posts this weekend, Vance asserted that a ceasefire agreement would have to establish a truce that respected Ukrainian sovereignty, be acceptable to both sides, and prevent the war from resuming.

“A ceasefire won’t be made by unsuccessful diplomats or officials living in a fantasy land,” he continued. “An agreement could be made by intelligent people operating in the real world.”

Additionally, it was Vance who continued on the introduction of the ceasefire proposal in a phone call with Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Trump had primarily tasked his staff with obtaining a signature on the peace deal before Thanksgiving this Thursday in the United States.

The Secretary of State's Reaction and Private Doubts

Vance's stance was a distinctly more enthusiastic support of the plan than that expressed by the secretary of state and security advisor, Marco Rubio, a more conventional hawk in the government who has gone from a uncertain position inside the administration to more stable footing.

Rubio was part of a US delegation that traveled to Geneva this weekend to confer with Ukrainian leaders to help moderate the original 28-point ceasefire proposal in order to make it more acceptable to leaders in Kyiv.

But, his initial reaction to the agreement was lukewarm:

“Stopping a complex and violent war such as the one in Ukraine demands an thorough discussion of substantive and pragmatic proposals,” Rubio wrote over the weekend. “Furthermore, securing a durable ceasefire will require both sides to agree to challenging but essential concessions. That is why we are and will continue to create a list of potential solutions for resolving this conflict drawing from input from both sides of this war.”

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 called lawmakers to explain that the deal was merely a initial proposal from the Russians and not an plan pushed by the White House.

“Rubio made a phone call to us this day and I think he made it very clear to us that we are the receivers of a offer that was presented to one of our officials,” said Rounds. “The document is not our suggestion, it is not our peace plan.”

Rubio acted swiftly to fall in line. “The peace proposal was authored by the US,” he later wrote. “The framework is presented as a strong structure for continuing negotiations. The proposal is based on feedback from the Moscow. However, it is additionally based on earlier and ongoing contributions from Ukraine.”