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The US Secretary of the Army, Dan Driscoll, emerged as an unlikely envoy for the White House's newest initiative to resolve the conflict in Ukraine. His close relationship with JD Vance has placed a key ally of the Eurosceptic VP at the center of President Trump's latest effort to settle the conflict.

Before his recent visit to Kyiv, Driscoll was unrecognized as a mediator or diplomat, and his initial efforts to sell the agreement to officials in Europe were labeled chaotic.

His strong ties with Vance, who he attended Yale and maintains a close friendship, indicate the rising influence of the isolationist vice-president in negotiations to resolve the Ukraine crisis.

Vance's Involvement in Peace Efforts

It was Vance who intervened during Volodymyr Zelenskyy rocky first trip to the Trump White House in March and demanded he show Trump more courtesy. Now, Ukraine is once again resisting demands from the US to agree to a quick deal that local officials have called a capitulation.

Following a chaotic first year in office, international actions in the White House are said to be influenced by a handful of Trump's key advisers, including top aide Susie Wiles, conservative advisor Stephen Miller, envoy Steve Witkoff, State Department head Marco Rubio, and of course Vance.

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

“Every objection of the ceasefire plan the administration is developing either misunderstands the framework or misstates some key reality on the ground,” Vance wrote.

Initial Attempts and European Reactions

Vance's early attempts at hammering out a peace deal with Russia, while simultaneously seeking to renew relations with Moscow, were fruitless and left his camp feeling frustrated with their Russian interlocutors. Leaders in Europe, meanwhile, were angered by his early remarks, in which he accused them of running from their constituents, who Vance said held anti-immigration and right-leaning views similar to those of Trump's own constituency.

But, the recently published ceasefire proposal closely resembled his positions, and he has been one of the most forceful spokespeople for the deal in the administration, even as the US has been criticized for accepting a ceasefire plan that mostly echoes Vladimir Putin's extreme terms.

In posts this weekend, Vance asserted that a peace deal would have to establish a truce that respected Ukrainian independence, be acceptable to each party, and stop the war from restarting.

“A ceasefire won’t be made by unsuccessful negotiators or politicians residing in a dream world,” he continued. “It might be made by smart people living in the real world.”

Additionally, it was Vance who continued on the presentation of the ceasefire proposal in a conversation with Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Trump had mainly instructed his staff with obtaining a agreement on the ceasefire accord before Thanksgiving this Thursday in the United States.

The Secretary of State's Response and Private Concerns

Vance's stance was a distinctly more enthusiastic support of the proposal than that expressed by the secretary of state and security advisor, Marco Rubio, a more traditional hardliner in the administration who has transitioned from a uncertain stature inside the administration to more stable standing.

Rubio was part of a US delegation that went to Geneva this weekend to confer with Ukrainian leaders to help refine the initial 28-point ceasefire proposal in order to make it more palatable to authorities in Kyiv.

But, his first response to the deal was tepid:

“Ending a complex and deadly conflict such as the one in Ukraine requires an thorough exchange of serious and realistic ideas,” Rubio stated recently. “And, achieving a lasting peace will require each party to agree to challenging but necessary compromises. That is why we are and will persist to create a list of possible solutions for ending this war drawing from feedback from each party of this conflict.”

Behind closed doors, he was said to be 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 contacted lawmakers to clarify that the deal was merely a initial offer from the Russians and not an plan pushed by the White House.

“The Secretary made a phone call to us this day and I believe he made it very clear to us that we are the recipients of a offer that was presented to one of our representatives,” said Rounds. “The document is not our recommendation, it is not our ceasefire proposal.”

Rubio moved quickly to fall in line. “This ceasefire plan was authored by the US,” he subsequently wrote. “The framework is offered as a strong framework for continuing negotiations. The proposal is based on feedback from the Moscow. However, it is additionally informed by earlier and current contributions from Ukraine.”