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The US Army Secretary, Daniel Driscoll, was an unlikely diplomat for the White House's latest initiative to resolve the Russian invasion in Ukraine. Driscoll's close relationship with Vice President Vance has positioned a key ally of the Eurosceptic VP at the center of President Trump's recent effort to settle the war.

Prior to his recent trip to Kyiv, Driscoll was not known as a mediator or statesman, and his early attempts to sell the agreement to European policymakers were described as chaotic.

His close ties with Vance, with whom he attended Yale and shares a personal bond, indicate the rising influence of the non-interventionist VP in negotiations to end the Ukraine crisis.

The VP's Role in Ceasefire Negotiations

It was Vance who stepped in during Volodymyr Zelenskyy disastrous first visit to the White House in March and insisted he show Trump more courtesy. Now, Ukraine is again pushing back against demands from the US to accept a swift settlement that Ukrainian leaders have described as a capitulation.

Following a chaotic first year in power, international actions in the White House are reportedly influenced by a small group of Trump's key advisers, such as chief of staff Susie Wiles, conservative adviser Stephen Miller, diplomat Steve Witkoff, secretary of state Marco Rubio, and finally Vance.

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

“Every objection of the peace framework the White House is working on either misunderstands the framework or misrepresents some key situation on the ground,” Vance wrote.

Initial Attempts and EU Reactions

Vance's initial efforts at hammering out a peace deal with Russia, while also attempting to restore relations with Moscow, were unsuccessful and left his camp feeling frustrated with their Russian counterparts. European officials, meanwhile, were angered by his initial remarks, in which he accused them of running from their voters, who Vance said held restrictionist and conservative views close to those of Trump's own supporters.

But, the new peace deal mirrored his positions, and he has been one of the most forceful advocates for the deal in the administration, even as the US has been criticized for accepting a peace framework that mostly echoes Vladimir Putin's extreme demands.

In social media updates this past weekend, Vance argued that a ceasefire agreement would have to produce a ceasefire that honored Ukrainian independence, be acceptable to both sides, and stop the war from resuming.

“Peace won’t be made by unsuccessful negotiators or politicians living in a dream world,” he continued. “An agreement might be made by smart people operating in the real world.”

Additionally, it was Vance who continued on the introduction of the ceasefire proposal in a conversation with Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Trump had mainly instructed his staff with securing a agreement on the ceasefire accord prior to Thanksgiving this Thursday in the United States.

The Secretary of State's Reaction and Private Doubts

Vance's stance was a notably more full-throated support of the plan than that expressed by the top diplomat and national security adviser, Marco Rubio, a more traditional hardliner in the administration who has gone from a uncertain position inside the White House to more firm standing.

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

However, his initial reaction to the agreement was tepid:

“Ending a complex and violent war such as the one in Ukraine requires an thorough exchange of substantive and realistic ideas,” Rubio wrote recently. “And, securing a lasting peace will require each party to agree to difficult but necessary concessions. This is the reason we are and will continue to create a set of potential ideas for resolving this war drawing from feedback from each party of this war.”

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 lawmakers to clarify that the deal was merely 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 emphasized 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 suggestion, it is not our ceasefire proposal.”

Rubio moved quickly to fall in line. “This ceasefire plan was authored by the US,” he later stated. “The framework is offered as a strong framework for continuing negotiations. It is derived from input from the Moscow. But, it is additionally informed by earlier and ongoing input from Ukraine.”