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The US Secretary of the Army, Dan Driscoll, emerged as an surprising diplomat for the White House's newest initiative to resolve the conflict in Ukraine. His close relationship with Vice President Vance has placed a key ally of the Eurosceptic VP at the forefront of President Trump's latest effort to settle the conflict.

Before his last week's visit to Kyiv, Driscoll was unrecognized as a mediator or diplomat, and his early attempts to sell the agreement to European policymakers were described as turbulent.

His strong relationship with Vance, who he studied and shares a close friendship, indicate the rising influence of the isolationist vice-president in negotiations to end the Ukraine war.

The VP's Role in Ceasefire Negotiations

This was Vance who stepped in during Volodymyr Zelenskyy disastrous initial trip to the White House in March and demanded he show Trump more courtesy. Now, Ukraine is again pushing back against pressure from the US to agree to a swift deal that Ukrainian leaders have described as a surrender.

After a chaotic first year in office, foreign policy actions in the White House are said to be influenced by a small group of Trump's top aides, such as chief of staff Susie Wiles, rightwing adviser Stephen Miller, diplomat Steve Witkoff, State Department head Marco Rubio, and finally Vance.

Vance has been a outspoken advocate of the recent plan, which was developed by Witkoff and Trump's relative Jared Kushner, together with the Russian diplomat Kirill Dmitriev.

“Every criticism of the peace framework the White House is developing either misinterprets the proposal or misstates some critical situation on the ground,” the VP stated.

Early Attempts and European Responses

Vance's initial efforts at negotiating a ceasefire agreement with Russia, while also attempting to renew relations with Moscow, were fruitless and left his camp feeling disappointed with their Russian counterparts. Leaders in Europe, in turn, were irritated by his early speeches, in which he charged them of ignoring their constituents, who Vance claimed held anti-immigration and right-leaning views close to those of Trump's own supporters.

But, the recently published ceasefire proposal mirrored his positions, and he has been one of the most assertive advocates for the agreement in the government, even as the US has been under fire for endorsing a ceasefire plan that largely echoes Vladimir Putin's extreme terms.

In social media updates this weekend, Vance asserted that a peace deal would have to produce a ceasefire that respected Ukrainian independence, be agreeable to both sides, and stop the conflict from restarting.

“Peace will not be made by failed diplomats or officials residing in a fantasy land,” he continued. “It might be made by smart people operating in the actual situation.”

It was Vance who continued on the presentation of the ceasefire proposal in a phone call with Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Trump had primarily instructed his staff with securing a agreement on the ceasefire accord before Thanksgiving this week in the United States.

The Secretary of State's Response and Internal Doubts

That was a notably more full-throated endorsement of the plan than that given by the top diplomat and national security adviser, Marco Rubio, a more traditional hawk in the government who has gone from a shaky stature inside the White House to more stable footing.

Rubio was part of a US team that traveled to Geneva this weekend to meet with Ukrainian leaders to help refine the initial 28-point ceasefire proposal in order to make it more palatable to leaders in Kyiv.

But, his first reaction to the deal was lukewarm:

“Ending a complex and deadly conflict such as the one in Ukraine requires an thorough exchange of serious and realistic ideas,” Rubio wrote recently. “Furthermore, securing a lasting peace will require each party to consent to challenging but necessary compromises. That is why we are and will continue to develop a set of possible solutions for resolving this war drawing from input from both sides of this conflict.”

Behind closed doors, he was said to be much more doubtful of the proposal. The Republican senator Mike Rounds stated recently at the Halifax International Security Forum in Nova Scotia that Rubio had contacted lawmakers to explain that the deal was just a initial offer from the Russians and not an plan pushed by the administration.

“The Secretary made a phone call to us this afternoon and I believe he made it very clear to us that we are the recipients of a offer that was presented to one of our representatives,” stated Rounds. “The document is not our recommendation, it is not our peace plan.”

Rubio moved quickly to align himself. “The peace proposal was authored by the US,” he subsequently stated. “The framework is offered as a solid structure for ongoing negotiations. The proposal is based on input from the Russian side. However, it is additionally based on earlier and current contributions from Ukraine.”