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The US Secretary of the Army, Dan Driscoll, emerged as an surprising envoy for the Trump administration latest initiative to end the conflict in Ukraine. His close relationship with JD Vance has positioned a close associate of the Eurosceptic VP at the center of Donald Trump latest effort to conclude the conflict.

Prior to his last week's trip to Kyiv, Driscoll was not known as a negotiator or statesman, and his initial efforts to promote the deal to European policymakers were labeled chaotic.

Driscoll's strong ties with Vance, who he studied and shares a close friendship, indicate the resurgence of the isolationist VP in talks to end the Ukraine war.

Vance's Involvement in Peace Efforts

This was Vance who stepped in during Ukraine's president's rocky initial trip to the Trump White House in March and demanded he show Trump more courtesy. Currently, Ukraine is again resisting demands from the US to accept a swift settlement that local officials have described as a surrender.

After a chaotic first year in power, international actions in the White House are said to be shaped by a small group of Trump's key advisers, such as chief of staff Susie Wiles, rightwing adviser Stephen Miller, diplomat Steve Witkoff, secretary of state Marco Rubio, and finally Vance.

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

“All objection of the ceasefire plan the administration is working on either misunderstands the framework or misrepresents some critical situation on the ground,” the VP stated.

Early Attempts and European Responses

Vance's early efforts at hammering out a peace deal with Russia, while simultaneously attempting to renew ties with Moscow, were unsuccessful and left his camp feeling disappointed with their Russian interlocutors. Leaders in Europe, in turn, were irritated by his early remarks, in which he charged them of running from their voters, who Vance said held anti-immigration and conservative positions similar to those of Trump's own supporters.

But, the new ceasefire proposal mirrored his stances, and he has been one of the most assertive advocates for the deal in the government, even as the US has been under fire for accepting a peace framework that mostly echoes Vladimir Putin's extreme demands.

In posts this weekend, Vance argued that a ceasefire agreement would have to establish a ceasefire that honored Ukrainian independence, be acceptable to each party, and prevent the conflict from resuming.

“A ceasefire will not be made by unsuccessful negotiators or officials residing in a fantasy land,” he continued. “An agreement might be made by smart people living in the real world.”

It was Vance who followed up on the introduction of the ceasefire proposal in a conversation with Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Trump had mainly instructed his staff with securing a agreement on the ceasefire accord prior to Thanksgiving this Thursday in the United States.

Rubio's Response and Internal Concerns

That was a distinctly more enthusiastic support of the plan than that given by the top diplomat and national security adviser, Marco Rubio, a more conventional hawk in the administration who has gone from a uncertain position inside the White House to more firm standing.

Rubio was part of a US team that went to Geneva this weekend to confer with Ukrainian leaders to help moderate the initial 28-point peace plan in order to make it more palatable to leaders in Kyiv.

But, his initial response to the agreement was tepid:

“Ending a complicated and violent war such as the one in Ukraine requires an extensive exchange of serious and pragmatic proposals,” Rubio stated recently. “And, securing a durable ceasefire will necessitate both sides to consent to difficult but essential compromises. That is why we are and will persist to create a set of potential ideas for resolving this conflict based on feedback from each party of this conflict.”

In private, he was reportedly much more skeptical 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 explain that the agreement was just a initial proposal from the Russians and not an initiative pushed by the White House.

“The Secretary did make a call to us this day and I believe he made it very clear to us that we are the receivers of a offer that was delivered to one of our representatives,” stated Rounds. “It is not our recommendation, it is not our peace plan.”

Rubio acted swiftly to fall in line. “The peace proposal was written by the US,” he later wrote. “The framework is presented as a solid structure for continuing negotiations. The proposal is derived from feedback from the Russian side. However, it is also based on earlier and current contributions from Ukraine.”