United States President Donald Trump on Friday accused his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelenskyy of “gambling with World War III” during a public confrontation at the White House.

Trump told Zelenskyy to come back for talks “when he is ready for peace”.

The tense meeting led to the collapse of a controversial minerals deal between the two nations and has created uncertainty about American military support for Ukraine amid the war with Russia.

Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022, which triggered the deadliest conflict in Europe since World War II.

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The verbal confrontation between Trump and Zelenskyy on Friday followed an interjection by Vice President JD Vance. Vance has been sceptical about additional American support for Ukraine.

Zelenskyy responded by suggesting that Vance should visit Ukraine to see the destruction the conflict had caused and that Moscow, not Kyiv, was responsible for the prolonged fighting.

In response, Vance accused the Ukrainian president of carrying out “propaganda tours”.

Vance asked Zelenskyy: “Do you think that it’s respectful to come to the Oval Office of the United States of America and attack the administration that is trying to prevent the destruction of your country?”

Trump said that the Ukrainian president was “not really in a good position” in the peace talks.

“You’re gambling with the lives of millions of people,” Trump said. “You’re gambling with World War III, and what you’re doing is very disrespectful to this country that’s backed you far more than a lot of people say they should have.”

Vance also asked if Zelenskyy had “said thank you once” for the support his country had received so far.

Trump told Zelenskyy that he should not tell the United States “what we’re going to feel”.

“We’re trying to solve a problem,” Trump said. “You’re in no position to dictate what we’re going to feel. We’re going to feel very good… You don’t have the cards right now with us, you’ll start having problems right now.”

The US president told Zelenskyy that Kyiv must either “make a deal or we are out”. The remark has been viewed as having meant that Washington would leave the peace negotiations and withdraw support to Ukraine.

After the argument with Trump, Zelenskyy left the White House early and the press conference to announce the minerals deal was cancelled.

While specifics of the deal were unclear, the agreement involved Kyiv and Washington jointly tapping into Ukrainian rare earth minerals in return for the US government to “maintain a long-term financial commitment to the development of a stable and economically prosperous Ukraine”, BBC reported.

Zelenskyy had also pushed for the arrangement to include an American security guarantee, but it was not added to the terms of the preliminary agreement.

Trump had claimed that the deal would allow the US to recover billions of dollars it has spent on military support for Ukraine in the past three years.

The minerals deal was also viewed by Trump as the first step towards a ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine. Trump’s representatives and their Russian counterparts met in February for talks mediated by Saudi Arabia on ending the Ukraine conflict. Ukraine was left out of the talks.

After the meeting, on Friday the Associated Press quoted Zelenskyy as saying that Ukraine will not enter peace talks with Russia until it has security guarantees against another offensive. The spat with Trump was “not good for both sides”, Zelenskyy added.

After the meeting, Trump said in a statement that the two had not signed the agreement.

“I have determined that President Zelenskyy is not ready for peace if America is involved, because he feels our involvement gives him a big advantage in negotiations,” Trump said. “I don’t want advantage, I want PEACE. He disrespected the United States of America in its cherished Oval Office. He can come back when he is ready for peace.”

In February, Trump had called Zelenskyy a “dictator” for not holding elections during the war and falsely accused Ukraine of starting the war. The US president had also warned that Zelenskyy “better move fast” to negotiate an end to the war or risk not having a nation to lead.

The Ukrainian president had responded at the time by saying that Trump was living in the Russian “disinformation space”.

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Trump and Vance’s criticism of Zelenskyy on Friday was backed by Russia.

Dmitry Medvedev, the deputy chair of the Russian security council, said on social media: “The insolent pig finally got a proper slap down in the Oval Office. And @realDonaldTrump is right: The Kiev regime is ‘gambling with WWIII.’”

However, Canada and European nations such as France, Germany, Poland, Spain, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, Sweden released statements backing Ukraine and reiterating their view that Russia is the aggressor in the conflict. These countries are also traditional American allies and members of the US-led North Atlantic Treaty Organization, a mutual security alliance.

Ursula von der Leyen, the president of the European Commission, praised Zelenskyy.

“Your dignity honors the bravery of the Ukrainian people,” Leyen said on social media. “Be strong, be brave, be fearless. We will continue working with you for a just and lasting peace.”

In a major diplomatic shift on Monday, the United States voted alongside Russia in seeking to block a United Nations General Assembly resolution by Ukraine that called for stopping hostilities and peacefully resolving the war in Eastern Europe.

The Trump administration split with its European allies by refusing to blame Moscow for its invasion of Ukraine in votes on three UN resolutions.

Also read: Understanding the Trump-Zelenskyy faceoff: A fraught minerals deal with vague US commitments