🔗 Share this article

America's Army Secretary, Daniel Driscoll, was an surprising diplomat for the Trump administration latest initiative to end the Russian invasion in Ukraine. Driscoll's strong connection with JD Vance has placed a key ally of the Eurosceptic vice-president at the center of President Trump's latest push to conclude the war.

Before his last week's visit to Kyiv, Driscoll was not known as a mediator or diplomat, and his early efforts to promote the deal to European policymakers were labeled chaotic.

His strong ties with Vance, who he studied and maintains a personal bond, signal the rising influence of the isolationist vice-president in negotiations to resolve the Ukraine crisis.

Vance's Role in Ceasefire Efforts

This was Vance who intervened during Volodymyr Zelenskyy disastrous initial visit to the Trump White House in March and demanded he show Trump more respect. Now, Ukraine is again pushing back against demands from the US to accept a quick deal that local officials have described as a surrender.

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

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

“All criticism of the peace framework the administration is developing either misunderstands the proposal or misrepresents some critical reality on the ground,” the VP stated.

Initial Attempts and European Responses

Vance's initial attempts at hammering out a peace deal with Russia, while also attempting to renew relations with Moscow, were unsuccessful and left his camp feeling disappointed with their Russian interlocutors. Leaders in Europe, in turn, were angered by his initial remarks, in which he accused them of ignoring their voters, who Vance claimed held restrictionist and conservative positions similar to those of Trump's own constituency.

But, the recently published peace deal mirrored his stances, and he has been one of the most assertive spokespeople for the deal in the government, even as the US has been under fire for accepting a ceasefire plan that mostly echoes Vladimir Putin's extreme terms.

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

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

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

Rubio's Response and Private Concerns

That was a distinctly more full-throated endorsement of the plan than that expressed by the secretary of state and national security adviser, Marco Rubio, a more conventional hawk in the administration who has transitioned from a shaky stature inside the administration to more stable standing.

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

But, his first response to the agreement was tepid:

“Stopping a complex and violent war such as the one in Ukraine requires an extensive discussion of substantive and pragmatic ideas,” Rubio wrote recently. “And, achieving a lasting ceasefire will require each party to agree to challenging but essential compromises. That is why we are and will continue to create a list of possible ideas for ending this conflict drawing from feedback from each party of this war.”

In private, he was reportedly much more doubtful of the plan. The GOP lawmaker Mike Rounds stated recently at the Halifax International Security Forum in Nova Scotia that Rubio had called legislators to explain that the agreement was just a preliminary proposal from the Russians and not an initiative advocated by the White House.

“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 delivered to one of our representatives,” stated Rounds. “The document is not our suggestion, it is not our peace plan.”

Rubio moved quickly to align himself. “This ceasefire plan was written by the US,” he subsequently wrote. “The framework is offered as a solid structure for ongoing discussions. It is based on input from the Russian side. But, it is additionally informed by previous and current contributions from Ukraine.”