🔗 Share this article

The US Army Secretary, Dan Driscoll, emerged as an unlikely envoy for the White House's newest initiative to resolve the Russian invasion in Ukraine. Driscoll's close connection with JD Vance has positioned a key ally of the Euroskeptic VP at the forefront of President Trump's recent push to conclude the conflict.

Before his last week's visit to Kyiv, Driscoll was not known as a negotiator or statesman, and his initial efforts to promote the deal to officials in Europe were described as turbulent.

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

Vance's Role in Peace Negotiations

This was Vance who intervened during Volodymyr Zelenskyy disastrous first visit to the White House in March and insisted he show Trump more respect. Currently, Ukraine is once again resisting pressure from the US to accept a swift settlement that local officials have described as a capitulation.

After a chaotic initial year in power, international decisions in the White House are reportedly shaped by a handful of Trump's key aides, such as top aide Susie Wiles, conservative adviser Stephen Miller, diplomat Steve Witkoff, secretary of state Marco Rubio, and of course Vance.

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

“All criticism of the peace framework the administration is working on either misunderstands the proposal or misstates some key reality on the ground,” Vance wrote.

Initial Efforts and EU Responses

Vance's initial efforts at hammering out a peace deal with Russia, while also attempting to restore relations with Moscow, were fruitless and left his camp feeling disappointed with their Russian interlocutors. Leaders in Europe, in turn, were angered by his initial remarks, in which he charged them of running from their constituents, who Vance said held anti-immigration and conservative positions similar to those of Trump's own constituency.

However, the new peace deal closely resembled his stances, and he has been one of the most forceful spokespeople for the agreement in the administration, even as the US has been under fire for accepting a peace framework that largely resembles Vladimir Putin's extreme terms.

In social media updates this weekend, Vance argued that a peace deal would have to establish a ceasefire that honored Ukrainian independence, be agreeable to both sides, and prevent the war from resuming.

“A ceasefire will not be made by unsuccessful negotiators or officials residing in a dream world,” he added. “It might be made by smart people operating in the real world.”

Additionally, it was Vance who followed up on the introduction of the ceasefire proposal in a phone call with Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Trump had mainly instructed his staff with obtaining a signature on the ceasefire accord prior to Thanksgiving this Thursday in the United States.

Rubio's Reaction and Internal Concerns

Vance's stance was a notably more enthusiastic endorsement of the proposal than that given by the top diplomat and national security adviser, Marco Rubio, a more conventional hardliner in the government who has transitioned from a uncertain position inside the White House to more firm standing.

Rubio was part of a US delegation that traveled to Geneva this weekend to meet with Ukrainian officials to help refine the original 28-point ceasefire proposal in order to make it more palatable to leaders in Kyiv.

However, his initial response to the agreement was lukewarm:

“Ending a complex and violent war such as the one in Ukraine requires an extensive exchange of serious and realistic ideas,” Rubio wrote recently. “Furthermore, achieving a durable ceasefire will require both sides to agree to difficult but necessary compromises. That is why we are and will continue to develop a list of possible solutions for resolving this conflict based on input from both sides of this conflict.”

Behind closed doors, 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 called legislators to clarify that the deal was merely a preliminary offer from the Russians and not an initiative pushed by the administration.

“Rubio did make a phone call to us this day and I think he emphasized to us that we are the receivers of a proposal that was delivered to one of our representatives,” stated Rounds. “It is not our suggestion, it is not our peace plan.”

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