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The US Secretary of the Army, Daniel Driscoll, emerged as an surprising envoy for the Trump administration latest proposal to end the Russian invasion in Ukraine. His close connection with JD Vance has positioned a key ally of the Eurosceptic VP at the forefront of President Trump's latest push to settle the conflict.

Prior to his recent trip to Kyiv, Driscoll was not known as a mediator or statesman, and his initial efforts to sell the deal to European policymakers were described as turbulent.

His strong relationship with Vance, with whom he studied and shares a personal bond, indicate the rising influence of the isolationist vice-president in negotiations to resolve the Ukraine crisis.

The VP's Involvement in Peace Negotiations

It was Vance who stepped in during Ukraine's president's disastrous first visit to the White House in March and insisted he show Trump more courtesy. Currently, Ukraine is once again pushing back against demands from the US to agree to a quick settlement that local officials have called a surrender.

After a chaotic first year in office, foreign policy decisions in the White House are reportedly shaped by a small group of Trump's top aides, such as top aide Susie Wiles, conservative advisor Stephen Miller, diplomat Steve Witkoff, secretary of state Marco Rubio, and finally Vance.

Vance has been a vocal supporter of the latest proposal, which was crafted by Witkoff and Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner, alongside the Kremlin envoy Kirill Dmitriev.

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

Early Efforts and EU Responses

Vance's initial efforts at hammering out a peace deal with Russia, while simultaneously attempting to restore ties with Moscow, were fruitless and left his team feeling disappointed with their Russian counterparts. European officials, meanwhile, were irritated by his initial remarks, in which he charged them of ignoring their voters, who Vance claimed held anti-immigration and conservative views similar to those of Trump's own constituency.

However, the recently published peace deal closely resembled his positions, and he has been one of the most assertive advocates for the deal in the administration, even as the US has been criticized for endorsing a ceasefire plan that mostly resembles Vladimir Putin's maximalist demands.

In posts this past weekend, Vance argued that a ceasefire agreement would have to produce a truce that honored Ukrainian independence, be acceptable to both sides, and prevent the conflict from resuming.

“Peace won’t be made by failed diplomats or politicians residing in a dream world,” he added. “An agreement might be made by intelligent people living in the actual situation.”

Additionally, it was Vance who followed up on the presentation of the peace plan in a conversation with Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Trump had primarily instructed his team with securing a signature on the ceasefire accord before Thanksgiving this Thursday in the United States.

Rubio's Reaction and Private Doubts

Vance's stance was a distinctly more full-throated endorsement of the plan than that expressed by the top diplomat and security advisor, Marco Rubio, a more conventional hardliner in the administration who has transitioned from a uncertain position inside the administration to more firm footing.

Rubio was part of a US team that went 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.

However, his initial reaction to the agreement was tepid:

“Ending a complicated and violent war such as the one in Ukraine demands an thorough exchange of serious and pragmatic ideas,” Rubio stated recently. “And, achieving a lasting peace will require both sides to agree to challenging but essential concessions. That is why we are and will persist to develop a set of potential solutions for ending this conflict based on input from both sides of this war.”

In private, he was reportedly much more doubtful of the plan. The GOP lawmaker Mike Rounds said last week at the Halifax International Security Forum in Nova Scotia that Rubio had contacted legislators to explain that the agreement was merely a preliminary offer from the Russians and not an initiative advocated by the administration.

“The Secretary made a phone call to us this day and I believe he emphasized to us that we are the receivers of a offer that was presented to one of our officials,” said Rounds. “It is not our recommendation, it is not our ceasefire proposal.”

Rubio acted swiftly to fall in line. “This ceasefire plan was authored by the US,” he subsequently stated. “It is presented as a strong framework for ongoing discussions. It is derived from feedback from the Moscow. But, it is also informed by earlier and current input from Ukraine.”