🔗 Share this article

The US Army Secretary, Daniel Driscoll, was an unlikely diplomat for the Trump administration newest proposal to end the Russian invasion in Ukraine. His close relationship with JD Vance has positioned a close associate of the Eurosceptic vice-president at the forefront of President Trump's latest effort to settle the conflict.

Prior to his recent visit to Kyiv, Driscoll was unrecognized as a negotiator or statesman, and his early efforts to promote the deal to officials in Europe were labeled turbulent.

His close ties with Vance, who he attended Yale and shares a close friendship, signal the rising influence of the non-interventionist VP in talks to end the Ukraine war.

Vance's Involvement in Peace Negotiations

This was Vance who stepped in during Ukraine's president's rocky first trip to the White House in March and insisted he show Trump more courtesy. Now, Ukraine is once again pushing back against pressure from the US to agree to a quick deal that local officials have described as a capitulation.

After a chaotic initial year in office, foreign policy decisions in the White House are reportedly shaped by a small group of Trump's key aides, such as top aide Susie Wiles, rightwing advisor Stephen Miller, envoy Steve Witkoff, secretary of state 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 Kremlin envoy Kirill Dmitriev.

“Every objection of the ceasefire plan the administration is working on either misunderstands the framework or misrepresents some key reality on the ground,” the VP stated.

Early Attempts and EU Responses

Vance's initial efforts at negotiating a ceasefire agreement with Russia, while simultaneously seeking to restore relations with Moscow, were fruitless and left his team feeling frustrated with their Russian interlocutors. Leaders in Europe, meanwhile, were angered by his early speeches, in which he accused them of running from their constituents, who Vance claimed held restrictionist and conservative positions close to those of Trump's own supporters.

However, the new ceasefire proposal closely resembled his stances, and he has been one of the most forceful advocates for the deal in the government, even as the US has been criticized 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 produce a truce that respected Ukrainian independence, be acceptable to both sides, and stop the war from resuming.

“Peace won’t be made by failed negotiators or officials residing in a fantasy land,” he continued. “An agreement could be made by smart people operating in the actual situation.”

Additionally, it was Vance who continued on the introduction of the ceasefire proposal in a phone call with Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Trump had primarily tasked his team with obtaining a agreement on the ceasefire accord prior to Thanksgiving this Thursday in the United States.

The Secretary of State's Reaction and Internal Concerns

Vance's stance was a notably more full-throated support of the plan than that given by the top diplomat and security advisor, Marco Rubio, a more traditional hawk in the administration who has gone from a shaky stature inside the White House to more firm footing.

Rubio was a member of a US team that went to Geneva this past weekend to meet with Ukrainian leaders to help refine the original 28-point peace plan in order to make it more acceptable to leaders in Kyiv.

However, his initial reaction to the agreement was tepid:

“Stopping a complicated and violent conflict such as the one in Ukraine requires an thorough discussion of substantive and realistic ideas,” Rubio stated over the weekend. “Furthermore, achieving a durable ceasefire will necessitate both sides to agree to difficult but essential compromises. This is the reason we are and will continue to create a list of potential solutions for ending this conflict based on input from each party of this war.”

In private, he was said to be much more skeptical of the proposal. The Republican senator Mike Rounds stated recently at the Halifax International Security Forum in Nova Scotia that Rubio had called lawmakers to explain that the deal was just a preliminary offer from the Russians and not an plan pushed by the White House.

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

Rubio moved quickly to fall in line. “The peace proposal was written by the US,” he later wrote. “It is presented as a solid framework for ongoing discussions. The proposal is derived from feedback from the Moscow. However, it is also informed by earlier and current input from Ukraine.”