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America's Army Secretary, Dan Driscoll, was an surprising envoy for the White House's newest initiative to end the conflict in Ukraine. Driscoll's strong relationship with JD Vance has positioned a key ally of the Eurosceptic VP at the center of President Trump's recent push to settle the conflict.

Before his recent trip to Kyiv, Driscoll was unrecognized as a mediator or statesman, and his initial attempts to sell the deal to European policymakers were labeled chaotic.

His strong ties with Vance, who he attended Yale and shares a personal bond, indicate the resurgence of the non-interventionist vice-president in talks to resolve the Ukraine crisis.

The VP's Involvement in Ceasefire Negotiations

This was Vance who stepped in during Ukraine's president's disastrous first visit to the Trump White House in March and insisted he show Trump more courtesy. Now, Ukraine is once again resisting pressure from the US to accept a quick settlement that local officials have called a surrender.

Following a chaotic initial year in office, foreign policy decisions in the White House are said to be shaped by a handful of Trump's key aides, such as chief of staff Susie Wiles, conservative advisor Stephen Miller, diplomat Steve Witkoff, secretary of state Marco Rubio, and finally Vance.

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

“Every criticism of the ceasefire plan the administration is developing either misunderstands the framework or misrepresents some critical situation on the ground,” Vance stated.

Initial Attempts and European Reactions

Vance's initial attempts at negotiating a ceasefire agreement with Russia, while simultaneously attempting to restore relations with Moscow, were fruitless and left his team feeling disappointed with their Russian counterparts. Leaders in Europe, meanwhile, were angered by his initial remarks, in which he accused them of ignoring their constituents, who Vance said held anti-immigration and right-leaning positions similar to those of Trump's own supporters.

However, the recently published ceasefire proposal mirrored his stances, and he has been one of the most assertive advocates for the agreement in the administration, even as the US has been criticized for endorsing a peace framework that largely echoes 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 independence, be agreeable to each party, and prevent the conflict from restarting.

“A ceasefire won’t be made by unsuccessful diplomats or politicians residing in a dream world,” he continued. “It might be made by smart people operating in the actual situation.”

Additionally, it was Vance who continued on the introduction of the ceasefire proposal in a conversation with Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Trump had primarily tasked his team with securing a agreement on the peace deal prior to Thanksgiving this Thursday in the United States.

The Secretary of State's Reaction and Internal Concerns

Vance's stance was a notably more enthusiastic endorsement of the proposal than that expressed by the secretary of state 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 traveled to Geneva this weekend to meet with Ukrainian officials to help refine the original 28-point ceasefire proposal in order to make it more acceptable to leaders in Kyiv.

But, his first reaction to the deal was tepid:

“Ending a complicated and violent conflict such as the one in Ukraine demands an thorough discussion of substantive and realistic ideas,” Rubio wrote recently. “Furthermore, achieving a durable ceasefire will necessitate each party to agree to difficult but necessary compromises. That is why we are and will continue to develop a set of potential ideas for resolving this conflict drawing from feedback from both sides of this war.”

In private, he was reportedly much more doubtful of the plan. The Republican senator Mike Rounds said recently at the Halifax International Security Forum in Nova Scotia that Rubio had called lawmakers to explain that the agreement was merely a initial proposal from the Russians and not an initiative advocated by the administration.

“The Secretary did make a call to us this day and I believe he emphasized to us that we are the recipients of a offer that was presented to one of our representatives,” said Rounds. “The document is not our suggestion, it is not our peace plan.”

Rubio moved quickly to fall in line. “This ceasefire plan was authored by the US,” he later wrote. “The framework is presented as a strong framework for ongoing discussions. The proposal is based on input from the Russian side. But, it is additionally based on previous and current contributions from Ukraine.”