🔗 Share this article

America's Army Secretary, Daniel Driscoll, emerged as an surprising envoy for the Trump administration newest initiative to end the conflict in Ukraine. His strong relationship with JD Vance has positioned a close associate of the Euroskeptic vice-president at the forefront of President Trump's latest push to conclude the war.

Before his last week's trip to Kyiv, Driscoll was not known as a negotiator or statesman, and his initial efforts to promote the agreement to European policymakers were described as turbulent.

His strong ties with Vance, with whom he studied and shares a personal bond, signal the resurgence of the isolationist vice-president in negotiations to end the Ukraine war.

The VP's Involvement in Ceasefire Efforts

It was Vance who intervened during Ukraine's president's rocky initial visit to the White House in March and demanded he show Trump more respect. Currently, Ukraine is once again resisting demands from the US to accept a swift deal that local officials have called a surrender.

Following a chaotic first year in office, foreign policy decisions in the White House are said to be influenced by a small group of Trump's key advisers, 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 supporter of the latest proposal, which was developed by Witkoff and Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner, together with the Kremlin envoy Kirill Dmitriev.

“Every criticism of the ceasefire plan the administration is developing either misinterprets the proposal or misrepresents some critical situation on the ground,” Vance stated.

Early Attempts and European Responses

Vance's initial attempts at hammering out a ceasefire agreement with Russia, while also attempting to restore relations with Moscow, were unsuccessful and left his team feeling disappointed with their Russian interlocutors. Leaders in Europe, in turn, were irritated by his early speeches, in which he charged them of running from their voters, who Vance claimed held anti-immigration and conservative views similar to those of Trump's own supporters.

But, the recently published ceasefire proposal mirrored his stances, and he has been one of the most assertive advocates for the agreement in the administration, even as the US has been under fire for endorsing a ceasefire plan that largely resembles Vladimir Putin's maximalist terms.

In posts this past weekend, Vance argued that a peace deal would have to produce a ceasefire that honored Ukrainian independence, be acceptable to both sides, and prevent the conflict from restarting.

“Peace won’t be made by failed diplomats or politicians residing in a fantasy land,” he added. “An agreement could be made by intelligent people operating in the actual situation.”

Additionally, it was Vance who continued on the introduction of the peace plan in a phone call with Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Trump had mainly tasked his team with securing a agreement on the ceasefire accord prior to Thanksgiving this Thursday in the United States.

Rubio's Reaction and Internal Concerns

That was a notably more full-throated support of the proposal than that expressed by the top diplomat and security advisor, Marco Rubio, a more traditional hawk in the administration who has gone from a shaky stature inside the White House to more stable footing.

Rubio was a member of a US team that went to Geneva this weekend to meet with Ukrainian officials to help moderate the initial 28-point ceasefire proposal in order to make it more acceptable to leaders in Kyiv.

But, his first response to the agreement was tepid:

“Stopping a complex and deadly war such as the one in Ukraine requires an thorough exchange of serious and realistic proposals,” Rubio stated recently. “And, achieving a lasting ceasefire will require both sides to agree to challenging but necessary 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 each party of this conflict.”

Behind closed doors, he was reportedly much more doubtful of the plan. The Republican senator Mike Rounds said recently at the Halifax International Security Forum in Nova Scotia that Rubio had contacted legislators to clarify that the agreement was just a initial offer from the Russians and not an plan pushed by the White House.

“The Secretary made a call to us this afternoon and I think he made it very clear to us that we are the receivers of a offer that was presented to one of our officials,” said Rounds. “It is not our suggestion, it is not our peace plan.”

Rubio moved quickly to fall in line. “The peace proposal was authored by the US,” he later stated. “The framework is presented as a solid structure for continuing discussions. The proposal is based on feedback from the Russian side. But, it is also informed by earlier and current contributions from Ukraine.”