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America's Secretary of the Army, Daniel Driscoll, emerged as an unlikely envoy for the Trump administration latest initiative to resolve the Russian invasion in Ukraine. Driscoll's close connection with Vice President Vance has positioned a key ally of the Eurosceptic vice-president at the forefront of President Trump's latest push to settle the war.

Prior to his recent visit to Kyiv, Driscoll was unrecognized as a negotiator or statesman, and his initial attempts to promote the agreement to European policymakers were described as chaotic.

Driscoll's close relationship with Vance, who he studied and maintains a close friendship, indicate the rising influence of the non-interventionist VP in talks to end the Ukraine war.

Vance's Role in Peace Negotiations

It was Vance who stepped in during Ukraine's president's rocky 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 agree to a quick deal that local officials have called a surrender.

Following a chaotic first year in office, international actions in the White House are said to be shaped by a small group of Trump's key aides, including chief of staff Susie Wiles, rightwing advisor Stephen Miller, diplomat Steve Witkoff, State Department head Marco Rubio, and finally Vance.

Vance has been a outspoken advocate of the recent proposal, which was developed by Witkoff and Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner, alongside the Kremlin envoy Kirill Dmitriev.

“Every criticism of the peace framework the White House is developing either misunderstands the proposal or misstates some critical reality 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 renew ties with Moscow, were fruitless and left his camp feeling frustrated with their Russian interlocutors. European officials, meanwhile, were irritated by his early remarks, in which he charged them of ignoring their constituents, who Vance claimed held anti-immigration and conservative views similar to those of Trump's own constituency.

But, the recently published peace deal mirrored his positions, and he has been one of the most forceful spokespeople for the agreement 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 argued that a peace deal would have to produce a ceasefire that honored Ukrainian independence, be acceptable to each party, and stop the war from restarting.

“Peace won’t be made by unsuccessful diplomats or politicians residing in a dream world,” he added. “An agreement could be made by intelligent people living in the actual situation.”

It was Vance who followed up on the introduction of the ceasefire proposal in a phone call with Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Trump had primarily tasked his team with obtaining a signature on the ceasefire accord before Thanksgiving this week in the United States.

Rubio's Response and Private Doubts

That was a notably more enthusiastic endorsement of the proposal than that expressed by the top diplomat and security advisor, Marco Rubio, a more traditional hardliner in the administration who has gone from a uncertain position inside the White House to more stable standing.

Rubio was a member of a US delegation that went to Geneva this weekend to confer with Ukrainian leaders to help moderate the initial 28-point peace plan in order to make it more acceptable to authorities in Kyiv.

However, his initial reaction to the agreement was lukewarm:

“Ending a complex and deadly conflict such as the one in Ukraine demands an extensive exchange of serious and pragmatic proposals,” Rubio stated over the weekend. “Furthermore, achieving a lasting ceasefire will require each party to agree to difficult but essential concessions. That is why we are and will continue to develop a list of possible ideas for resolving this war drawing from feedback from each party of this conflict.”

Behind closed doors, he was said to be much more skeptical of the proposal. The Republican senator Mike Rounds stated recently at the Halifax International Security Forum in Nova Scotia that Rubio had contacted legislators to explain that the agreement was just a preliminary offer from the Russians and not an initiative pushed by the administration.

“Rubio did make a call to us this afternoon and I think he made it very clear to us that we are the receivers of a offer that was delivered to one of our officials,” stated Rounds. “The document is not our recommendation, it is not our peace plan.”

Rubio acted swiftly to align himself. “The peace proposal was written by the US,” he subsequently wrote. “It is presented as a strong structure for ongoing discussions. The proposal is derived from feedback from the Russian side. But, it is additionally informed by previous and current contributions from Ukraine.”