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America's Army Secretary, Daniel Driscoll, emerged as an surprising diplomat for the White House's latest initiative to resolve the Russian invasion in Ukraine. His strong connection with JD Vance has positioned a key ally of the Euroskeptic VP at the forefront of President Trump's latest push to settle the conflict.

Prior to his recent visit to Kyiv, Driscoll was not known as a negotiator or statesman, and his early attempts to promote the deal to European policymakers were labeled chaotic.

Driscoll's strong ties with Vance, with whom he studied and shares a personal bond, indicate the resurgence of the isolationist VP in negotiations to end the Ukraine crisis.

Vance's Involvement in Peace Efforts

It was Vance who intervened during Ukraine's president's disastrous initial trip to the White House in March and insisted he show Trump more courtesy. Currently, Ukraine is again pushing back against pressure from the US to accept a quick deal that Ukrainian leaders have called a capitulation.

Following a tumultuous first year in power, foreign policy decisions in the White House are said to be shaped by a handful of Trump's key aides, including chief of staff Susie Wiles, rightwing advisor Stephen Miller, envoy Steve Witkoff, secretary of state Marco Rubio, and of course Vance.

Vance has been a outspoken advocate of the recent plan, which was crafted by Witkoff and Trump's relative Jared Kushner, together with the Russian diplomat Kirill Dmitriev.

“All criticism of the ceasefire plan the administration is working on either misunderstands the framework or misrepresents some critical situation on the ground,” the VP wrote.

Early Efforts and EU Reactions

Vance's early attempts at negotiating a ceasefire agreement with Russia, while simultaneously attempting to restore relations with Moscow, were fruitless and left his team feeling frustrated with their Russian interlocutors. European officials, meanwhile, were angered by his initial speeches, in which he accused them of ignoring their voters, who Vance said held restrictionist and conservative positions close to those of Trump's own constituency.

However, the new ceasefire proposal closely resembled his positions, and he has been one of the most forceful advocates for the agreement in the government, even as the US has been under fire for endorsing a ceasefire plan that largely echoes Vladimir Putin's extreme demands.

In posts this weekend, Vance asserted that a ceasefire agreement would have to produce a ceasefire that respected Ukrainian sovereignty, be agreeable to both sides, and prevent the war from resuming.

“A ceasefire will not be made by failed diplomats or officials living in a dream world,” he added. “It could be made by intelligent people operating in the actual situation.”

It was Vance who continued on the presentation of the ceasefire proposal in a conversation with Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Trump had mainly tasked his team with securing a agreement on the ceasefire accord before Thanksgiving this Thursday in the United States.

Rubio's Response and Private Concerns

Vance's stance was a notably more full-throated endorsement of the proposal than that given by the top diplomat and security advisor, Marco Rubio, a more traditional hawk in the administration who has gone from a uncertain position inside the administration to more stable footing.

Rubio was part of a US delegation that traveled to Geneva this weekend to confer with Ukrainian officials to help moderate the original 28-point ceasefire proposal in order to make it more palatable to leaders in Kyiv.

But, his first response to the deal was lukewarm:

“Ending a complicated and violent war such as the one in Ukraine demands an extensive discussion of serious and realistic ideas,” Rubio wrote over the weekend. “Furthermore, achieving a lasting ceasefire will require both sides to agree to challenging but necessary concessions. That is why we are and will persist to develop a list of possible ideas for resolving this conflict based on input from both sides of this conflict.”

In private, he was reportedly much more skeptical of the proposal. 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 deal was merely a initial offer from the Russians and not an plan pushed by the administration.

“Rubio did make a phone 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 officials,” said Rounds. “The document is not our recommendation, it is not our peace plan.”

Rubio acted swiftly to fall in line. “This ceasefire plan was written by the US,” he subsequently stated. “It is offered as a solid structure for ongoing negotiations. The proposal is based on feedback from the Moscow. However, it is also based on earlier and current contributions from Ukraine.”