The CDU leader said Europe must be prepared to act independently.
CDU leader Friedrich Merz, who will likely become Germany's next chancellor, called Friday's dispute between Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, US President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance a "manufactured escalation."
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Speaking at a press conference in Hamburg, Merz said "It was not a spontaneous reaction to interventions by Zelenskyy, but obviously a manufactured escalation in this meeting in the Oval Office."
"We must now show that we are in a position to act independently in Europe," he added.
Friday's press conference had escalated after Trump and Vance berated the Ukrainian leader for being "disrespectful", resulting in Zelenskyy's premature departure from the White House without signing a minerals deal.
France's Prime Minister François Bayrou called it a "staggering scene".
He said the internationally televised incident was "marked by brutality, a desire to humiliate, with the goal of making Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy fold through threats so that he gives in to the demands of his aggressors."
Addressing lawmakers in the House of Commons on Monday, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer urged for stronger ties between the UK and US "for our security, for our technology, for our trade and investment."
"They are and always will be indispensable and we will never choose between either side of the Atlantic," he added.
On Sunday, dozens of European leaders and delegates from Canada and Turkey arrived to London for crunch talks on Ukraine's future.
Starmer said European leaders agreed to boost their defence efforts to ensure "a strong peace, a just peace, a lasting peace" in Ukraine.
"Britain will play a leading role with, if necessary, and together with others, boots on the ground and planes in the air," he added.