US President Donald Trump shouted at his Ukrainian counterpart on Friday during a meeting in the Oval Office, calling out Volodymyr Zelensky for “gambling with millions of lives” and suggesting his actions could trigger World War III.

Zelensky, who abruptly left the White House, did not sign the critical minerals deal with the US that Trump had demanded and put forward as a key condition for future support for war-torn Ukraine.

Open hostility in the Oval Office

A lot of back and forth happened between Trump, Vice President JD Vance and Zelensky in the last 10 minutes of the meeting which lasted for about 45 minutes, news agency AP reported.

It began with Vance telling Zelenskyy, “Mr. President, with respect. I think it’s disrespectful for you to come to the Oval Office to try to litigate this in front of the American media.”

When Zelenskyy tried to object, Trump raised his voice and said, “You’re gambling with the lives of millions of people.”

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

In a rare show of open hostility in the Oval Office, Trump was seen putting pressure on Zelensky to grant the US access to Ukraine’s minerals and accept a war settlement on his terms.

Earlier in the meeting Trump said that “We’re not looking forward to sending a lot of arms.” The US is looking forward to getting the war finished so we can do other things, he added.

Trump mentioned that Zelensky wasn’t in a position to be asking for concessions.

“You’re not in a good position. You don’t have the cards right now,” Trump said pointing his finger toward Zelenskyy. “With us you start having cards.”

As Trump and Zelensky spoke about past support for Ukraine, Trump warned, “It’s going to be hard to do business like this.” Vance cut in, telling Zelenskyy to “just say thank you” instead of airing disagreements publicly in front of the press.

The Landmark Deal

Zelensky was expected to sign a landmark economic deal with the US aimed at financing the reconstruction of war-torn Ukraine, an agreement that would closely tie the two countries together for years to come.

Trump said that the US is offering a fair deal and he wants to see that US funds for Ukraine should be “put to different kinds of use like rebuilding.”

“We have something that is a very fair deal,” Trump said, adding, “It is a big commitment from the United States.”

He said the US wants to see the killing in the war stopped, adding that US money for Ukraine should be “put to different kinds of use like rebuilding.”

However, many Ukrainians fear a rushed peace with too many concessions could let Russia regroup for a future invasion.

Rare earths agreement

Trump acknowledged the US lacks rare earth minerals, while Ukraine has some of the world’s best. He said U.S. interests aim to use them for AI and military weapons.

Rare earth elements are a set of seventeen elements that are key to different types of consumer technology, including cellphones, hard drives and electric and hybrid vehicles.

In a bid to boost US-Ukraine ties and give his country an upper hand in future negotiations with Russia, initially, the deal was proposed by Zelensky.

After the Oval Office blow up, Trump posted on the official social media handle of POTUS “…I have determined that President Zelenskyy is not ready for Peace if America is involved.”

“He disrespected the United States of America in its cherished Oval Office. He can come back when he is ready for Peace,” Trump wrote.