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The US Army Secretary, Daniel Driscoll, emerged as an surprising diplomat for the Trump administration newest proposal to end the Russian invasion in Ukraine. His close connection with JD Vance has placed a close associate of the Eurosceptic vice-president at the forefront of President Trump's latest push to settle the conflict.

Prior to his recent visit to Kyiv, Driscoll was unrecognized as a mediator or statesman, and his early attempts to sell the deal to officials in Europe were labeled turbulent.

His close ties with Vance, who he studied and shares a personal bond, signal the rising influence of the isolationist VP in negotiations to end the Ukraine war.

Vance's Role in Ceasefire Negotiations

It was Vance who stepped in during Ukraine's president's rocky first trip to the White House in March and insisted he show Trump more respect. Currently, Ukraine is again pushing back against demands from the US to accept a swift settlement that Ukrainian leaders have described as a capitulation.

After a tumultuous first year in power, international actions in the White House are said to be influenced by a small group of Trump's key advisers, such as top aide Susie Wiles, conservative adviser Stephen Miller, envoy Steve Witkoff, secretary of state Marco Rubio, and of course Vance.

Vance has been a vocal advocate of the latest proposal, which was crafted by Witkoff and Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner, together with the Russian diplomat Kirill Dmitriev.

“Every objection of the peace framework the White House is developing either misinterprets the framework or misrepresents some critical reality on the ground,” Vance stated.

Early Attempts and EU Reactions

Vance's early efforts at negotiating a peace deal with Russia, while also seeking to restore relations with Moscow, were unsuccessful and left his camp feeling frustrated with their Russian interlocutors. European officials, meanwhile, were angered by his early speeches, in which he charged them of running from their voters, who Vance said held restrictionist and right-leaning views close to those of Trump's own supporters.

However, the recently published peace deal mirrored his positions, and he has been one of the most assertive advocates for the deal in the government, even as the US has been criticized for endorsing a ceasefire plan that mostly resembles Vladimir Putin's extreme demands.

In social media updates this past weekend, Vance asserted that a ceasefire agreement would have to produce a truce that respected Ukrainian independence, be acceptable to each party, and stop the conflict from restarting.

“A ceasefire will not be made by unsuccessful diplomats or officials residing in a fantasy land,” he continued. “An agreement could be made by smart people living in the actual situation.”

Additionally, it was Vance who continued on the introduction of the peace plan in a conversation with Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Trump had primarily instructed his staff with obtaining a agreement on the peace deal before Thanksgiving this week in the United States.

The Secretary of State's Reaction and Internal Doubts

That was a notably more enthusiastic endorsement of the plan than that given by the secretary of state and national security adviser, Marco Rubio, a more traditional hawk in the administration who has transitioned from a uncertain position inside the White House to more firm standing.

Rubio was a member of a US delegation that went to Geneva this past weekend to meet with Ukrainian officials to help refine the original 28-point peace plan in order to make it more palatable to authorities in Kyiv.

However, his initial reaction to the agreement was lukewarm:

“Stopping a complex and violent conflict such as the one in Ukraine requires an thorough discussion of serious and pragmatic proposals,” Rubio wrote recently. “And, securing a durable peace will require both sides to consent to difficult but necessary compromises. This is the reason we are and will continue to develop a list of potential solutions for resolving this war drawing from input from each party of this war.”

Behind closed doors, he was reportedly much more doubtful of the proposal. The GOP lawmaker Mike Rounds said recently at the Halifax International Security Forum in Nova Scotia that Rubio had contacted legislators to clarify that the agreement was merely a preliminary proposal from the Russians and not an plan advocated by the administration.

“The Secretary did make a phone call to us this afternoon and I believe he emphasized to us that we are the recipients of a offer that was presented to one of our officials,” said Rounds. “It is not our suggestion, it is not our ceasefire proposal.”

Rubio acted swiftly to fall in line. “This ceasefire plan was written by the US,” he subsequently wrote. “It is offered as a solid structure for continuing discussions. The proposal is derived from input from the Moscow. However, it is additionally based on earlier and current input from Ukraine.”