🔗 Share this article

America's Army Secretary, Daniel Driscoll, was an surprising envoy for the Trump administration latest proposal to end the conflict in Ukraine. Driscoll's strong relationship with Vice President Vance has positioned a close associate of the Euroskeptic VP at the center of President Trump's recent push to settle the war.

Prior to his last week's trip to Kyiv, Driscoll was not known as a mediator or statesman, and his initial attempts to promote the deal to European policymakers were described as turbulent.

Driscoll's strong ties with Vance, with whom he studied and maintains a close friendship, indicate the resurgence of the non-interventionist VP in negotiations to resolve the Ukraine war.

The VP's Role in Ceasefire Efforts

It was Vance who intervened during Volodymyr Zelenskyy disastrous first visit to the White House in March and demanded he show Trump more courtesy. Currently, Ukraine is once again resisting demands from the US to accept a quick settlement that local officials have described as a capitulation.

After a tumultuous first year in office, foreign policy actions in the White House are reportedly shaped by a small group of Trump's top advisers, including top aide Susie Wiles, rightwing adviser Stephen Miller, envoy Steve Witkoff, State Department head Marco Rubio, and of course Vance.

Vance has been a vocal advocate of the recent plan, which was crafted by Witkoff and Trump's relative Jared Kushner, alongside the Kremlin envoy Kirill Dmitriev.

“Every criticism of the ceasefire plan the administration is working on either misinterprets the framework or misrepresents some critical reality on the ground,” Vance stated.

Early Attempts and European Responses

Vance's initial attempts at hammering out a ceasefire agreement with Russia, while simultaneously attempting to renew ties with Moscow, were fruitless and left his camp feeling frustrated with their Russian interlocutors. Leaders in Europe, meanwhile, were angered by his initial speeches, in which he charged them of running from their voters, who Vance said held restrictionist and conservative positions similar to those of Trump's own supporters.

But, the recently published ceasefire proposal closely resembled his positions, and he has been one of the most forceful advocates for the agreement in the administration, even as the US has been under fire for endorsing a peace framework that largely echoes Vladimir Putin's extreme demands.

In social media updates this past weekend, Vance asserted that a peace deal would have to produce a ceasefire that honored Ukrainian sovereignty, be agreeable to both sides, and prevent the war from restarting.

“Peace will not be made by unsuccessful negotiators or politicians living in a dream world,” he added. “It could be made by smart people operating in the real world.”

Additionally, it was Vance who followed up on the introduction of the ceasefire proposal in a conversation with Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Trump had primarily tasked his staff with obtaining a signature on the ceasefire accord prior to Thanksgiving this Thursday in the United States.

Rubio's Reaction and Private Concerns

Vance's stance was a notably more enthusiastic support of the proposal than that expressed by the top diplomat and national security adviser, Marco Rubio, a more conventional hawk in the government who has transitioned from a shaky stature inside the White House to more firm standing.

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

But, his initial response to the agreement was lukewarm:

“Ending a complex and deadly war such as the one in Ukraine demands an extensive exchange of serious and pragmatic proposals,” Rubio wrote over the weekend. “And, achieving a lasting peace will require each party to agree to difficult but essential compromises. This is the reason we are and will continue to develop a list of possible solutions for resolving this war drawing from input from both sides of this war.”

In private, he was said to be much more doubtful of the plan. The Republican senator Mike Rounds stated recently at the Halifax International Security Forum in Nova Scotia that Rubio had contacted legislators to explain that the agreement was merely a initial offer from the Russians and not an plan advocated by the White House.

“The Secretary 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 presented to one of our representatives,” stated Rounds. “It is not our suggestion, it is not our peace plan.”

Rubio acted swiftly to align himself. “The peace proposal was authored by the US,” he subsequently stated. “The framework is offered as a solid framework for ongoing negotiations. The proposal is derived from input from the Russian side. But, it is additionally based on previous and ongoing contributions from Ukraine.”