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America's Secretary of the Army, Daniel Driscoll, emerged as an unlikely envoy for the White House's newest initiative to end the conflict in Ukraine. His strong relationship with Vice President Vance has positioned a close associate of the Eurosceptic VP at the forefront of President Trump's latest effort to conclude the conflict.

Prior to his recent visit to Kyiv, Driscoll was unrecognized as a negotiator or statesman, and his initial attempts to sell the agreement to officials in Europe were labeled chaotic.

His close ties with Vance, who he studied and maintains a personal bond, signal the rising influence of the isolationist vice-president in talks to resolve the Ukraine war.

Vance's Role in Ceasefire Negotiations

It was Vance who stepped in during Ukraine's president's disastrous first trip 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 agree to a quick settlement that local officials have called a capitulation.

After a chaotic initial year in office, international actions in the White House are reportedly influenced by a small group of Trump's key aides, such as chief of staff Susie Wiles, rightwing advisor Stephen Miller, envoy Steve Witkoff, State Department head Marco Rubio, and finally Vance.

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

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

Early Efforts and EU Responses

Vance's initial attempts at hammering out a ceasefire agreement with Russia, while simultaneously seeking to restore relations with Moscow, were unsuccessful and left his camp feeling disappointed with their Russian interlocutors. Leaders in Europe, meanwhile, were angered by his early remarks, in which he charged 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 ceasefire proposal mirrored his positions, and he has been one of the most assertive advocates for the deal in the administration, even as the US has been under fire for accepting a peace framework that largely echoes Vladimir Putin's extreme demands.

In posts this past weekend, Vance asserted that a ceasefire agreement would have to establish a ceasefire that honored Ukrainian independence, be agreeable to each party, and prevent the conflict from restarting.

“A ceasefire will not be made by failed diplomats or politicians living in a dream world,” he continued. “It could be made by intelligent people living in the real world.”

Additionally, it was Vance who followed up on the presentation of the ceasefire proposal in a conversation with Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Trump had mainly instructed his team with securing a signature on the ceasefire accord before Thanksgiving this week in the United States.

Rubio's Response and Internal Doubts

Vance's stance was a notably more full-throated endorsement of the plan than that expressed by the secretary of state and national security adviser, Marco Rubio, a more traditional hawk in the government who has gone from a uncertain stature inside the administration to more stable footing.

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

But, his first response to the deal was tepid:

“Stopping a complex and deadly conflict such as the one in Ukraine requires an extensive discussion of substantive and pragmatic proposals,” Rubio stated recently. “Furthermore, securing a lasting peace will require each party to agree to difficult but necessary compromises. That is why we are and will persist to create a list of potential solutions for ending this war based on feedback from both sides of this war.”

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 deal was merely a preliminary offer from the Russians and not an plan advocated by the White House.

“The Secretary did make a call to us this day and I think he emphasized to us that we are the receivers of a proposal that was delivered to one of our representatives,” stated Rounds. “It is not our suggestion, it is not our ceasefire proposal.”

Rubio moved quickly to align himself. “The peace proposal was authored by the US,” he later stated. “The framework is presented as a strong structure for continuing discussions. It is derived from input from the Russian side. However, it is also based on earlier and ongoing contributions from Ukraine.”