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America's Army Secretary, Daniel Driscoll, was an unlikely diplomat for the Trump administration newest initiative to resolve the Russian invasion in Ukraine. His strong 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.

Before his last week's visit to Kyiv, Driscoll was unrecognized as a mediator or statesman, and his initial attempts to promote the deal to European policymakers were described as chaotic.

His strong ties with Vance, who he studied and maintains a personal bond, indicate the resurgence of the isolationist vice-president in negotiations to resolve the Ukraine war.

The VP's Involvement in Peace Efforts

This was Vance who intervened during Ukraine's president's disastrous first trip to the Trump White House in March and insisted he show Trump more courtesy. Now, Ukraine is again pushing back against demands from the US to agree to a swift settlement that local officials have described as a surrender.

After a tumultuous initial year in office, foreign policy actions in the White House are reportedly shaped by a small group of Trump's key aides, including top aide Susie Wiles, rightwing adviser Stephen Miller, diplomat Steve Witkoff, State Department head Marco Rubio, and finally Vance.

Vance has been a vocal advocate of the recent proposal, 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 administration is working on either misinterprets the proposal or misstates some critical reality on the ground,” Vance stated.

Early Attempts and European Responses

Vance's early attempts at hammering out a peace deal with Russia, while also seeking to restore ties with Moscow, were unsuccessful and left his camp feeling disappointed with their Russian counterparts. European officials, in turn, were irritated by his initial speeches, in which he accused them of ignoring their constituents, who Vance said held restrictionist and conservative positions similar to those of Trump's own constituency.

However, the recently published ceasefire proposal 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 accepting a ceasefire plan that mostly resembles Vladimir Putin's extreme terms.

In social media updates this weekend, Vance argued that a peace deal would have to produce a truce that honored Ukrainian sovereignty, be acceptable to each party, and prevent the conflict from resuming.

“Peace will not be made by unsuccessful negotiators or politicians residing in a dream world,” he continued. “An agreement could be made by smart people operating in the real world.”

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

Rubio's Reaction and Private Concerns

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

Rubio was a member of a US team that went to Geneva this past weekend to meet with Ukrainian officials to help moderate the original 28-point ceasefire proposal in order to make it more acceptable to leaders in Kyiv.

But, his initial response to the agreement was tepid:

“Stopping a complicated and deadly conflict such as the one in Ukraine requires an thorough exchange of serious and realistic proposals,” Rubio stated over the weekend. “And, securing a lasting peace will require both sides to agree to challenging but essential concessions. This is the reason we are and will persist to develop a set of potential solutions for ending this conflict based on feedback from each party of this war.”

Behind closed doors, 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 lawmakers to explain that the deal was just a initial proposal from the Russians and not an initiative advocated by the administration.

“Rubio made a phone call to us this day and I believe he emphasized to us that we are the recipients of a offer that was delivered to one of our representatives,” said Rounds. “It is not our recommendation, it is not our ceasefire proposal.”

Rubio acted swiftly to fall in line. “The peace proposal was written by the US,” he subsequently stated. “It is offered as a solid structure for continuing discussions. It is based on input from the Russian side. But, it is also informed by earlier and current contributions from Ukraine.”