🔗 Share this article

America's Secretary of the Army, Dan Driscoll, was an surprising diplomat for the White House's latest proposal to end the conflict in Ukraine. His strong connection with Vice President Vance has positioned a key ally of the Euroskeptic vice-president at the forefront of Donald Trump latest push to settle the war.

Before his recent visit to Kyiv, Driscoll was not known as a negotiator or statesman, and his early attempts to sell the deal to officials in Europe were labeled chaotic.

Driscoll's close ties with Vance, who he studied and maintains a close friendship, signal the rising influence of the non-interventionist vice-president in talks to end the Ukraine war.

The VP's Involvement in Ceasefire Negotiations

This was Vance who stepped in during Ukraine's president's disastrous first trip to the White House in March and insisted he show Trump more respect. Now, Ukraine is again pushing back against pressure from the US to agree to a quick deal that Ukrainian leaders have described as a surrender.

Following a chaotic initial year in office, foreign policy decisions in the White House are said to be shaped by a small group of Trump's key aides, such as chief of staff Susie Wiles, rightwing advisor Stephen Miller, envoy Steve Witkoff, State Department head Marco Rubio, and of course Vance.

Vance has been a vocal supporter of the recent proposal, which was crafted by Witkoff and Trump's relative Jared Kushner, alongside the Russian diplomat Kirill Dmitriev.

“All criticism of the peace framework the White House is working on either misunderstands the framework or misstates some key reality on the ground,” the VP stated.

Initial Efforts and EU Responses

Vance's initial attempts at negotiating a peace deal with Russia, while also attempting to renew ties with Moscow, were unsuccessful and left his camp feeling frustrated with their Russian counterparts. European officials, meanwhile, were angered by his initial remarks, in which he charged them of ignoring their voters, who Vance claimed held restrictionist and conservative positions similar to those of Trump's own constituency.

But, the new ceasefire proposal closely resembled 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 accepting a peace framework that mostly echoes Vladimir Putin's maximalist demands.

In posts this weekend, Vance argued that a peace deal would have to produce a truce that respected Ukrainian independence, be agreeable to each party, and stop the conflict from resuming.

“A ceasefire won’t be made by failed negotiators or politicians residing in a dream world,” he added. “It might be made by smart people living in the actual situation.”

It was Vance who followed up on the introduction of the peace plan in a phone call with Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Trump had primarily tasked his staff with obtaining a signature on the ceasefire accord before Thanksgiving this week in the United States.

The Secretary of State's Reaction and Internal Doubts

Vance's stance was a distinctly more enthusiastic support of the plan than that given by the secretary of state and security advisor, Marco Rubio, a more traditional hardliner in the government who has gone from a shaky stature inside the administration to more stable footing.

Rubio was part of a US team that traveled to Geneva this weekend to meet with Ukrainian officials 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 agreement was lukewarm:

“Stopping a complicated and violent conflict such as the one in Ukraine requires an extensive exchange of serious and pragmatic proposals,” Rubio stated over the weekend. “Furthermore, securing a durable ceasefire will require both sides to consent to challenging but essential concessions. This is the reason we are and will continue to create a list of potential solutions for ending this war drawing from feedback 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 stated recently at the Halifax International Security Forum in Nova Scotia that Rubio had contacted lawmakers to explain that the deal was merely a initial proposal from the Russians and not an plan advocated by the administration.

“Rubio did make a call to us this day and I think he emphasized to us that we are the receivers of a proposal that was presented to one of our officials,” stated Rounds. “The document is not our suggestion, it is not our ceasefire proposal.”

Rubio acted swiftly to align himself. “The peace proposal was written by the US,” he subsequently stated. “It is offered as a solid framework for continuing discussions. The proposal is derived from input from the Russian side. However, it is also based on earlier and ongoing contributions from Ukraine.”