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America's Secretary of the Army, Daniel Driscoll, emerged as an surprising envoy for the Trump administration latest initiative to resolve the conflict in Ukraine. Driscoll's strong connection with Vice President Vance has positioned a close associate of the Euroskeptic VP at the center of President Trump's latest push to conclude the war.

Prior to his last week's visit to Kyiv, Driscoll was unrecognized as a mediator or statesman, and his initial efforts to promote the agreement to officials in Europe were described as chaotic.

His close relationship with Vance, who he studied and maintains a close friendship, signal the resurgence of the isolationist vice-president in negotiations to resolve the Ukraine war.

The VP's Involvement in Peace Efforts

It was Vance who intervened during Ukraine's president's disastrous initial visit to the Trump White House in March and demanded he show Trump more courtesy. Now, Ukraine is once again pushing back against pressure from the US to agree to a quick deal that local officials have described as a surrender.

Following a tumultuous first year in office, foreign policy decisions in the White House are said to be influenced by a small group of Trump's top advisers, such as chief of staff Susie Wiles, rightwing advisor Stephen Miller, envoy Steve Witkoff, secretary of state Marco Rubio, and finally Vance.

Vance has been a vocal advocate of the recent plan, which was crafted by Witkoff and Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner, together with the Russian diplomat Kirill Dmitriev.

“All criticism of the peace framework the administration is developing either misinterprets the framework or misstates some key situation on the ground,” Vance wrote.

Early Attempts and EU Reactions

Vance's initial efforts at negotiating a ceasefire agreement with Russia, while also attempting to restore relations with Moscow, were fruitless and left his team feeling frustrated with their Russian interlocutors. Leaders in Europe, meanwhile, were angered by his initial speeches, in which he accused them of ignoring their constituents, who Vance claimed held anti-immigration and right-leaning positions similar to those of Trump's own constituency.

But, the new peace deal mirrored his stances, and he has been one of the most assertive spokespeople for the agreement in the government, even as the US has been under fire for accepting a peace framework that largely resembles Vladimir Putin's maximalist demands.

In social media updates this past weekend, Vance asserted that a peace deal would have to produce a ceasefire that honored Ukrainian independence, be acceptable to each party, and stop the war from restarting.

“Peace will not be made by failed diplomats or politicians residing in a dream world,” he added. “It might be made by intelligent people operating in the actual situation.”

It was Vance who followed up on the introduction of the ceasefire proposal in a conversation with Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Trump had primarily instructed his staff with obtaining a signature on the peace deal before Thanksgiving this week in the United States.

Rubio's Response and Internal Concerns

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

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

However, his initial reaction to the agreement was tepid:

“Stopping a complicated and deadly conflict such as the one in Ukraine demands an extensive exchange of serious and pragmatic ideas,” Rubio wrote recently. “And, achieving a lasting peace will necessitate both sides to agree to difficult but essential concessions. That is why we are and will persist to create a set of possible solutions for resolving this conflict drawing from input from each party of this war.”

Behind closed doors, he was said to be much more doubtful of the plan. The Republican senator Mike Rounds said last week at the Halifax International Security Forum in Nova Scotia that Rubio had contacted legislators to clarify that the agreement was just a initial proposal from the Russians and not an plan advocated by the administration.

“Rubio made a phone call to us this day and I believe he emphasized to us that we are the recipients of a proposal that was presented to one of our officials,” said Rounds. “It is not our suggestion, it is not our ceasefire proposal.”

Rubio acted swiftly to align himself. “The peace proposal was authored by the US,” he subsequently stated. “It is offered as a strong framework for continuing discussions. The proposal is based on input from the Moscow. But, it is also informed by earlier and current input from Ukraine.”