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The US Army Secretary, Daniel Driscoll, emerged as an unlikely diplomat for the White House's latest initiative to resolve the conflict in Ukraine. His strong relationship with JD Vance has positioned a key ally of the Euroskeptic vice-president at the forefront of Donald Trump latest push to conclude the war.

Before his last week's trip to Kyiv, Driscoll was not known as a negotiator or diplomat, and his initial efforts to promote the deal to European policymakers were labeled chaotic.

His strong relationship with Vance, with whom he attended Yale and shares a personal bond, signal the rising influence of the isolationist vice-president in talks to resolve the Ukraine war.

The VP's Role in Ceasefire Negotiations

It was Vance who stepped in during Volodymyr Zelenskyy disastrous initial visit to the Trump White House in March and demanded he show Trump more courtesy. Currently, Ukraine is again pushing back against pressure from the US to accept a quick settlement that local officials have described as a capitulation.

Following a chaotic initial year in office, international decisions in the White House are said to be influenced by a small group of Trump's key aides, such as top aide Susie Wiles, conservative adviser Stephen Miller, envoy Steve Witkoff, secretary of state Marco Rubio, and finally Vance.

Vance has been a outspoken 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.

“Every criticism of the ceasefire plan the White House is working on either misunderstands the framework or misstates some key reality on the ground,” Vance wrote.

Initial Efforts and European Responses

Vance's early attempts at hammering out a ceasefire agreement with Russia, while simultaneously seeking to restore ties with Moscow, were unsuccessful and left his team feeling frustrated with their Russian counterparts. Leaders in Europe, meanwhile, were angered by his initial remarks, in which he accused them of running from their constituents, who Vance claimed held restrictionist and conservative positions close to those of Trump's own constituency.

But, the new peace deal closely resembled his stances, and he has been one of the most assertive spokespeople for the agreement in the government, even as the US has been criticized for accepting a ceasefire plan that largely resembles Vladimir Putin's extreme terms.

In social media updates this weekend, Vance argued that a ceasefire agreement would have to produce a truce that respected Ukrainian sovereignty, be agreeable to both sides, and prevent the war from restarting.

“Peace won’t be made by failed negotiators or politicians residing in a fantasy land,” he added. “An agreement might be made by smart 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 instructed his team with securing a agreement on the ceasefire accord before Thanksgiving this week in the United States.

Rubio's Response and Private Concerns

That was a notably more full-throated support of the plan than that expressed by the secretary of state and national security adviser, Marco Rubio, a more conventional hardliner in the administration who has gone from a uncertain position inside the administration to more firm standing.

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

But, his initial response to the agreement was tepid:

“Ending a complicated and deadly war such as the one in Ukraine demands an thorough discussion of substantive and realistic proposals,” Rubio wrote over the weekend. “And, achieving a lasting peace will necessitate both sides to agree to challenging but necessary concessions. This is the reason we are and will persist to create a list of potential ideas for ending this conflict based on input from each party of this conflict.”

Behind closed doors, he was reportedly much more doubtful of the plan. The GOP lawmaker Mike Rounds stated last week at the Halifax International Security Forum in Nova Scotia that Rubio had called lawmakers to explain that the deal was just a initial offer from the Russians and not an initiative advocated by the White House.

“Rubio made a call to us this afternoon and I believe he emphasized to us that we are the recipients of a offer 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 fall in line. “This ceasefire plan was authored by the US,” he subsequently stated. “The framework is offered as a solid structure for continuing discussions. The proposal is based on feedback from the Russian side. However, it is also based on earlier and ongoing input from Ukraine.”