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America's Secretary of the Army, Daniel Driscoll, was an surprising envoy for the White House's newest initiative to end the Russian invasion in Ukraine. Driscoll's close connection with JD Vance has placed a close associate of the Euroskeptic vice-president at the center of President Trump's recent effort to conclude the war.

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

His close relationship with Vance, with whom he studied and maintains a personal bond, signal the resurgence of the isolationist VP in talks to end the Ukraine war.

Vance's Involvement in Peace Efforts

It was Vance who stepped in during Ukraine's president's disastrous first visit to the Trump White House in March and insisted he show Trump more respect. Now, Ukraine is once again resisting demands from the US to agree to a swift deal that local officials have described as a surrender.

Following a tumultuous first year in power, foreign policy actions in the White House are said to be shaped by a small group of Trump's key advisers, such as chief of staff Susie Wiles, rightwing advisor Stephen Miller, diplomat Steve Witkoff, State Department head Marco Rubio, and of course Vance.

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

“Every criticism of the peace framework the administration is developing either misunderstands the proposal or misstates some key reality on the ground,” Vance stated.

Early Attempts and EU Responses

Vance's early attempts at hammering out a peace deal with Russia, while simultaneously attempting to restore relations with Moscow, were unsuccessful and left his camp feeling frustrated with their Russian counterparts. European officials, in turn, were irritated by his early remarks, in which he accused them of ignoring their constituents, who Vance said held anti-immigration and conservative views similar to those of Trump's own supporters.

However, the recently published peace deal mirrored his stances, and he has been one of the most forceful advocates for the agreement in the administration, even as the US has been under fire for endorsing a peace framework that mostly resembles Vladimir Putin's maximalist terms.

In social media updates this past weekend, Vance asserted that a ceasefire agreement would have to produce a truce that honored Ukrainian independence, be agreeable to both sides, and stop the conflict from resuming.

“Peace won’t be made by failed negotiators or politicians residing in a fantasy land,” he continued. “It could be made by smart people living in the real world.”

Additionally, it was Vance who followed up on the introduction of the peace plan in a phone call with Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Trump had mainly instructed his staff with securing a agreement on the ceasefire accord prior to Thanksgiving this week in the United States.

The Secretary of State's Response and Private Doubts

That was a distinctly more enthusiastic endorsement of the proposal than that given by the secretary of state and security advisor, Marco Rubio, a more traditional hawk in the administration who has gone from a uncertain position inside the White House to more firm footing.

Rubio was part of a US team that traveled 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 authorities in Kyiv.

However, his initial reaction to the agreement was tepid:

“Stopping a complicated and deadly war such as the one in Ukraine requires an extensive exchange of substantive and realistic ideas,” Rubio wrote recently. “And, securing a durable ceasefire will require each party to consent to challenging but essential compromises. This is the reason we are and will persist to create a set of potential solutions for resolving this conflict drawing from input from each party of this war.”

Behind closed doors, he was reportedly 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 legislators to explain that the deal was just a initial proposal from the Russians and not an initiative advocated by the White House.

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

Rubio moved quickly to fall in line. “The peace proposal was written by the US,” he subsequently wrote. “It is offered as a strong framework for continuing discussions. It is derived from feedback from the Russian side. But, it is additionally informed by earlier and current contributions from Ukraine.”