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The US Secretary of the Army, Dan Driscoll, was an unlikely envoy for the Trump administration newest initiative to end the Russian invasion in Ukraine. Driscoll's close relationship with Vice President Vance has positioned a key ally of the Euroskeptic VP at the center of Donald Trump latest effort to settle the conflict.

Prior to his recent visit to Kyiv, Driscoll was not known as a mediator or statesman, and his initial efforts to promote the agreement to officials in Europe were described as turbulent.

His strong ties with Vance, who he attended Yale and shares a close friendship, indicate the rising influence of the isolationist vice-president in talks to resolve the Ukraine war.

The VP's Role in Peace Efforts

It was Vance who intervened during Ukraine's president's disastrous initial visit to the White House in March and insisted he show Trump more courtesy. Now, Ukraine is again resisting demands from the US to agree to a quick settlement that local officials have called a surrender.

Following a chaotic initial year in power, international decisions in the White House are reportedly shaped by a handful of Trump's key aides, such as chief of staff Susie Wiles, conservative adviser Stephen Miller, envoy Steve Witkoff, secretary of state Marco Rubio, and of course Vance.

Vance has been a outspoken advocate of the latest plan, which was developed by Witkoff and Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner, alongside the Russian diplomat Kirill Dmitriev.

“All criticism of the peace framework the White House is working on either misunderstands the proposal or misstates some critical situation on the ground,” Vance stated.

Initial Efforts and EU Reactions

Vance's early efforts at hammering out a peace deal with Russia, while also seeking to restore ties with Moscow, were unsuccessful and left his camp feeling frustrated with their Russian counterparts. Leaders in Europe, in turn, were irritated by his initial remarks, in which he accused them of ignoring their voters, who Vance said held anti-immigration and conservative views similar to those of Trump's own supporters.

However, the recently published peace deal mirrored his positions, 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 ceasefire plan that mostly resembles Vladimir Putin's extreme terms.

In posts this weekend, Vance asserted that a ceasefire agreement would have to establish a ceasefire that respected Ukrainian sovereignty, be agreeable to each party, and stop the war from restarting.

“Peace will not be made by unsuccessful negotiators or officials living in a dream world,” he continued. “An agreement could be made by smart people operating in the real world.”

It was Vance who continued on the presentation of the peace plan in a conversation with Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Trump had mainly tasked his staff with obtaining a agreement on the peace deal prior to Thanksgiving this Thursday in the United States.

The Secretary of State's Response and Internal Concerns

That was a distinctly more enthusiastic support of the plan than that given by the top diplomat and national security adviser, Marco Rubio, a more conventional hardliner in the government who has transitioned from a uncertain position inside the White House to more stable standing.

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

But, his initial reaction to the deal was lukewarm:

“Stopping a complicated and violent war such as the one in Ukraine requires an thorough discussion of serious and pragmatic proposals,” Rubio stated recently. “And, achieving a lasting peace will require both sides to consent to challenging but necessary compromises. This is the reason we are and will persist to develop a list of potential solutions for resolving this war drawing from input from each party of this war.”

In private, he was said to be much more doubtful of the plan. The GOP lawmaker Mike Rounds stated recently at the Halifax International Security Forum in Nova Scotia that Rubio had contacted lawmakers to explain that the deal was just a initial offer from the Russians and not an initiative pushed by the White House.

“The Secretary made a phone call to us this day and I think he emphasized to us that we are the recipients of a proposal that was presented 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. “This ceasefire plan was authored by the US,” he later stated. “The framework is presented as a solid framework for continuing negotiations. The proposal is derived from feedback from the Russian side. But, it is also based on previous and current input from Ukraine.”