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America's Army Secretary, Dan Driscoll, was an surprising diplomat for the Trump administration latest proposal to end the conflict in Ukraine. Driscoll's close relationship with Vice President Vance has positioned a close associate of the Euroskeptic vice-president at the center of Donald Trump latest push to conclude the conflict.

Prior to his recent trip to Kyiv, Driscoll was not known as a negotiator or diplomat, and his early efforts to promote the deal to officials in Europe were described as chaotic.

His strong ties with Vance, who he studied and shares a close friendship, indicate the resurgence of the non-interventionist vice-president in talks to end the Ukraine war.

Vance's Involvement in Peace Efforts

This was Vance who intervened during Ukraine's president's disastrous initial trip to the White House in March and insisted he show Trump more courtesy. Now, Ukraine is once again pushing back against demands from the US to accept a quick deal that local officials have described as a surrender.

After a tumultuous initial year in power, international actions in the White House are reportedly shaped by a handful of Trump's top advisers, such as top aide Susie Wiles, rightwing adviser Stephen Miller, envoy Steve Witkoff, secretary of state Marco Rubio, and of course Vance.

Vance has been a outspoken advocate of the latest plan, which was crafted by Witkoff and Trump's relative Jared Kushner, together with the Kremlin envoy Kirill Dmitriev.

“Every criticism of the peace framework the White House is working on either misunderstands the proposal or misrepresents some key situation on the ground,” the VP stated.

Initial Efforts and EU Responses

Vance's early attempts at hammering out a ceasefire agreement with Russia, while also seeking to restore ties with Moscow, were fruitless and left his team feeling disappointed with their Russian counterparts. Leaders in Europe, meanwhile, were angered by his initial speeches, in which he accused them of running from their constituents, who Vance claimed held restrictionist and conservative positions close to those of Trump's own supporters.

However, the new ceasefire proposal mirrored his stances, and he has been one of the most assertive advocates for the agreement in the administration, even as the US has been under fire for accepting a peace framework that largely echoes Vladimir Putin's maximalist terms.

In posts this weekend, Vance argued that a peace deal would have to produce a truce that respected Ukrainian sovereignty, be acceptable to both sides, and stop the war from resuming.

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

It was Vance who followed up on the presentation of the peace plan in a phone call with Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Trump had primarily tasked his staff with securing a signature on the ceasefire accord prior to Thanksgiving this Thursday in the United States.

Rubio's Response and Private Concerns

That was a notably more full-throated endorsement of the plan than that expressed by the top diplomat and national security adviser, Marco Rubio, a more traditional hardliner in the administration who has gone from a uncertain stature inside the White House to more firm standing.

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

However, his initial reaction to the deal was lukewarm:

“Stopping a complex and deadly war such as the one in Ukraine demands an extensive discussion of substantive and realistic proposals,” Rubio stated over the weekend. “Furthermore, securing a durable ceasefire will require both sides to consent to challenging but essential concessions. That is why we are and will continue to develop a list of possible solutions for ending this conflict drawing from input from each party of this conflict.”

Behind closed doors, he was said to be much more skeptical of the proposal. The Republican senator Mike Rounds said last week at the Halifax International Security Forum in Nova Scotia that Rubio had called lawmakers to explain that the agreement was just a preliminary offer from the Russians and not an plan pushed by the administration.

“The Secretary did make a phone call to us this afternoon and I think he emphasized to us that we are the receivers of a proposal that was presented to one of our officials,” stated Rounds. “The document is not our recommendation, it is not our ceasefire proposal.”

Rubio acted swiftly to align himself. “This ceasefire plan was written by the US,” he subsequently wrote. “The framework is presented as a strong framework for continuing negotiations. It is derived from feedback from the Russian side. But, it is also informed by earlier and current contributions from Ukraine.”