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The US Secretary of the Army, Daniel Driscoll, was an surprising diplomat for the White House's latest proposal to end the Russian invasion in Ukraine. His close relationship with JD Vance has placed a close associate of the Eurosceptic vice-president at the center of President Trump's recent push to settle the conflict.

Prior to his last week's trip to Kyiv, Driscoll was not known as a negotiator or statesman, and his early attempts to promote the agreement to European policymakers were described as chaotic.

His close relationship with Vance, who he studied and maintains a personal bond, signal the resurgence of the non-interventionist vice-president in talks to end the Ukraine crisis.

Vance's Role in Ceasefire Efforts

It was Vance who stepped in during Volodymyr Zelenskyy rocky first visit to the Trump White House in March and demanded he show Trump more courtesy. Now, Ukraine is again resisting demands from the US to accept a swift settlement that local officials have called a capitulation.

Following a chaotic initial year in power, international actions in the White House are said to be shaped by a small group of Trump's key aides, 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 vocal supporter of the latest proposal, which was developed 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 developing either misunderstands the framework or misrepresents some key situation on the ground,” Vance wrote.

Initial Attempts and EU Responses

Vance's early attempts at hammering out a peace deal with Russia, while simultaneously seeking to restore relations with Moscow, were fruitless and left his camp feeling frustrated with their Russian interlocutors. Leaders in Europe, meanwhile, were angered by his initial speeches, in which he accused them of ignoring their voters, who Vance said held anti-immigration and conservative positions close to those of Trump's own constituency.

But, the recently published peace deal closely resembled his stances, and he has been one of the most forceful advocates for the deal in the administration, even as the US has been criticized for endorsing a peace framework that mostly resembles Vladimir Putin's extreme demands.

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

“Peace will not be made by failed diplomats or officials residing in a dream world,” he continued. “It might be made by smart people operating in the real world.”

Additionally, it was Vance who continued on the introduction of the peace plan in a phone call with Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Trump had primarily instructed his staff with securing a signature on the peace deal prior to Thanksgiving this Thursday in the United States.

The Secretary of State's Response and Private Doubts

Vance's stance was a notably more full-throated support of the proposal than that expressed by the top diplomat and security advisor, Marco Rubio, a more traditional hardliner in the government who has gone from a shaky position inside the administration to more firm footing.

Rubio was a member of a US delegation that went to Geneva this 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 first response to the deal was lukewarm:

“Ending a complex and deadly conflict such as the one in Ukraine demands an extensive discussion of serious and realistic ideas,” Rubio stated recently. “Furthermore, securing a durable peace will require both sides to consent to difficult but necessary concessions. This is the reason we are and will continue to develop a set of potential solutions for resolving this war drawing from input from each party of this war.”

In private, he was reportedly much more skeptical of the proposal. The GOP lawmaker Mike Rounds stated recently at the Halifax International Security Forum in Nova Scotia that Rubio had called lawmakers to explain that the deal was just a initial proposal from the Russians and not an initiative pushed by the White House.

“The Secretary made a call to us this afternoon and I think 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 suggestion, it is not our peace plan.”

Rubio acted swiftly to align himself. “The peace proposal was authored by the US,” he subsequently stated. “The framework is presented as a strong structure for ongoing discussions. It is derived from feedback from the Moscow. But, it is additionally informed by earlier and ongoing contributions from Ukraine.”