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The US Secretary of the Army, Daniel Driscoll, emerged as an surprising diplomat for the Trump administration latest initiative to end the conflict in Ukraine. His strong connection with Vice President Vance has placed a close associate of the Eurosceptic VP at the center of Donald Trump latest effort to settle the war.

Prior to his last week's trip to Kyiv, Driscoll was unrecognized as a negotiator or diplomat, and his early attempts to sell the deal to officials in Europe were described as chaotic.

His strong ties with Vance, who he attended Yale and maintains a personal bond, signal the rising influence of the non-interventionist vice-president in negotiations to end the Ukraine war.

Vance's Involvement in Ceasefire Efforts

It was Vance who stepped in during Volodymyr Zelenskyy disastrous first visit to the Trump 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 swift settlement that Ukrainian leaders have described as a surrender.

Following a chaotic first year in power, international decisions in the White House are said to be influenced by a handful of Trump's top aides, such as top aide Susie Wiles, conservative adviser Stephen Miller, diplomat Steve Witkoff, secretary of state Marco Rubio, and of course Vance.

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

“All criticism of the ceasefire plan the administration is developing either misinterprets the proposal or misrepresents some critical situation on the ground,” Vance stated.

Early Efforts and EU Responses

Vance's early attempts at negotiating a peace deal with Russia, while also seeking to restore relations with Moscow, were fruitless and left his team feeling disappointed with their Russian counterparts. European officials, meanwhile, were angered by his early speeches, in which he charged them of running from their constituents, who Vance said held anti-immigration and conservative positions similar to those of Trump's own supporters.

But, the recently published peace deal mirrored his positions, and he has been one of the most forceful advocates for the deal in the administration, even as the US has been under fire for accepting a peace framework that largely echoes Vladimir Putin's extreme demands.

In posts this past weekend, Vance argued that a ceasefire agreement would have to produce a ceasefire that respected Ukrainian sovereignty, be agreeable to both sides, and stop the war from restarting.

“A ceasefire won’t be made by failed diplomats or politicians living in a dream world,” he continued. “It could be made by smart people operating in the real world.”

It was Vance who continued on the introduction of the peace plan in a phone call with Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Trump had mainly tasked his staff with securing a signature on the ceasefire accord before Thanksgiving this Thursday in the United States.

The Secretary of State's Response and Internal Doubts

That was a distinctly more enthusiastic endorsement of the plan than that given by the top diplomat and national security adviser, Marco Rubio, a more conventional hardliner in the administration who has transitioned from a uncertain position inside the administration to more stable standing.

Rubio was a member of a US team that went to Geneva this past weekend to meet with Ukrainian leaders to help refine the initial 28-point peace plan in order to make it more acceptable to leaders in Kyiv.

But, his initial response to the agreement was tepid:

“Ending a complex and deadly conflict such as the one in Ukraine requires an extensive exchange of serious and pragmatic proposals,” Rubio stated recently. “Furthermore, achieving a lasting ceasefire will require both sides to consent to challenging but necessary compromises. This is the reason we are and will persist to create a set of potential ideas for resolving this conflict drawing from feedback from both sides of this war.”

Behind closed doors, he was reportedly much more doubtful of the proposal. The Republican senator Mike Rounds said last week at the Halifax International Security Forum in Nova Scotia that Rubio had contacted lawmakers to clarify that the deal was merely a initial proposal from the Russians and not an initiative pushed by the administration.

“Rubio made a call to us this afternoon and I believe he emphasized to us that we are the recipients 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 moved quickly to fall in line. “The peace proposal was authored by the US,” he later wrote. “The framework is offered as a solid structure for continuing discussions. It is derived from feedback from the Russian side. But, it is also informed by previous and ongoing contributions from Ukraine.”