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America's Army Secretary, Daniel Driscoll, was an unlikely envoy for the White House's newest initiative to end the Russian invasion in Ukraine. Driscoll's close connection with Vice President Vance has placed a close associate of the Euroskeptic vice-president at the forefront of Donald Trump recent effort to settle the conflict.

Before his last week's trip to Kyiv, Driscoll was unrecognized as a mediator or statesman, and his early efforts to promote the deal to European policymakers were labeled turbulent.

Driscoll's strong relationship with Vance, who he attended Yale and shares a close friendship, indicate the resurgence of the non-interventionist vice-president in negotiations to end the Ukraine crisis.

The VP's Involvement in Ceasefire Efforts

It was Vance who intervened during Ukraine's president's rocky first trip to the White House in March and insisted he show Trump more respect. Now, Ukraine is again pushing back against demands from the US to agree to a swift deal that Ukrainian leaders have described as a capitulation.

After a chaotic initial year in office, foreign policy actions in the White House are said to be shaped by a handful of Trump's key aides, including top aide Susie Wiles, conservative advisor Stephen Miller, diplomat Steve Witkoff, secretary of state Marco Rubio, and finally Vance.

Vance has been a vocal supporter of the latest plan, which was developed by Witkoff and Trump's relative Jared Kushner, together with the Russian diplomat Kirill Dmitriev.

“Every objection of the peace framework the administration is developing either misunderstands the framework or misrepresents some key reality on the ground,” the VP stated.

Early Attempts and EU Responses

Vance's early attempts at hammering out a peace deal 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 irritated by his initial speeches, in which he charged them of ignoring their constituents, who Vance claimed held restrictionist and conservative positions 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 forceful advocates for the deal in the government, even as the US has been under fire for endorsing a ceasefire plan that mostly echoes Vladimir Putin's extreme demands.

In posts this past weekend, Vance argued that a ceasefire agreement would have to establish a ceasefire that respected Ukrainian sovereignty, be acceptable to each party, and stop the conflict from restarting.

“Peace will not be made by failed diplomats or politicians living in a fantasy land,” he added. “An agreement might be made by intelligent people operating in the real world.”

It was Vance who continued on the introduction of the peace plan in a phone call with Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Trump had mainly tasked his staff with obtaining a signature on the ceasefire accord prior to Thanksgiving this week in the United States.

Rubio's Response and Private Concerns

Vance's stance was a notably more enthusiastic support 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 transitioned from a shaky stature inside the administration to more firm footing.

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

However, his first reaction to the agreement was tepid:

“Ending a complicated and violent war such as the one in Ukraine demands an extensive discussion of serious and realistic proposals,” Rubio stated over the weekend. “And, achieving a lasting ceasefire will require both sides to agree to difficult but essential compromises. This is the reason we are and will persist to create a list of possible solutions for resolving this conflict drawing from feedback from both sides of this war.”

In private, he was said to be much more doubtful 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 explain that the deal was just 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 think he made it very clear to us that we are the recipients of a offer that was delivered to one of our representatives,” said Rounds. “The document is not our suggestion, it is not our peace plan.”

Rubio moved quickly to align himself. “This ceasefire plan was authored by the US,” he subsequently wrote. “The framework is presented as a strong structure for ongoing discussions. The proposal is derived from feedback from the Moscow. However, it is also informed by previous and current input from Ukraine.”