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The US Secretary of the Army, Dan Driscoll, emerged as an unlikely envoy for the Trump administration latest proposal to end the conflict in Ukraine. Driscoll's strong relationship with Vice President Vance has placed a close associate of the Eurosceptic vice-president at the center of Donald Trump recent push to settle the conflict.

Prior to his recent visit to Kyiv, Driscoll was unrecognized as a mediator or statesman, and his early efforts to promote the agreement to officials in Europe were labeled chaotic.

His strong relationship with Vance, with whom he attended Yale and shares a personal bond, indicate the resurgence of the non-interventionist VP in talks to end the Ukraine war.

Vance's Involvement in Peace Negotiations

This was Vance who stepped in during Volodymyr Zelenskyy disastrous first visit to the White House in March and insisted he show Trump more respect. Now, Ukraine is again resisting pressure from the US to agree to a swift settlement that local officials have described as a capitulation.

After a chaotic first year in office, foreign policy decisions in the White House are reportedly influenced by a handful of Trump's top advisers, such as top aide Susie Wiles, conservative adviser Stephen Miller, envoy Steve Witkoff, State Department head Marco Rubio, and finally Vance.

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

“All objection of the peace framework the administration is developing either misunderstands the proposal or misstates some critical reality on the ground,” Vance stated.

Initial Efforts and European Reactions

Vance's initial attempts at hammering out a peace deal with Russia, while simultaneously seeking to restore relations with Moscow, were fruitless and left his camp feeling frustrated with their Russian counterparts. European officials, meanwhile, were irritated by his initial speeches, in which he accused them of running from their constituents, who Vance said held restrictionist and right-leaning positions similar to those of Trump's own constituency.

But, the new 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 accepting a peace framework that largely echoes Vladimir Putin's maximalist demands.

In social media updates this past weekend, Vance argued that a peace deal would have to establish a truce that respected Ukrainian sovereignty, be agreeable to each party, and prevent the war from restarting.

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

It was Vance who continued on the presentation of the ceasefire proposal in a phone call with Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Trump had mainly tasked his staff with obtaining a agreement on the ceasefire accord prior to Thanksgiving this Thursday in the United States.

Rubio's Response and Internal Doubts

Vance's stance was a notably more full-throated support 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 shaky position inside the White House to more firm standing.

Rubio was a member of a US team that traveled to Geneva this weekend to meet with Ukrainian leaders to help refine the original 28-point peace plan in order to make it more acceptable to leaders in Kyiv.

But, his first response to the deal was tepid:

“Stopping a complex and deadly war such as the one in Ukraine demands an thorough exchange of serious and realistic ideas,” Rubio stated recently. “And, achieving a lasting ceasefire will require both sides to consent to challenging but essential concessions. That is why we are and will persist to develop a set of possible ideas for resolving this conflict based on feedback from both sides of this conflict.”

Behind closed doors, he was reportedly much more skeptical of the proposal. The GOP lawmaker Mike Rounds stated last week at the Halifax International Security Forum in Nova Scotia that Rubio had contacted lawmakers to explain that the agreement was just a preliminary offer from the Russians and not an plan pushed by the White House.

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

Rubio moved quickly to align himself. “This ceasefire plan was authored by the US,” he subsequently stated. “The framework is offered as a strong structure for continuing discussions. It is based on input from the Moscow. However, it is additionally informed by earlier and current contributions from Ukraine.”