MADRID, March 14. /TASS/. NATO’s entry into the conflict over Ukraine could spark the World War III, European Council President Charles Michel said in an interview with the Spanish newspaper El Pais on Monday.

"We are doing our utmost not to exacerbate the conflict. Russia is a nuclear power, and we are well aware that if this conflict turns into a [conflict] of NATO against Russia, then we will get World War III," Michel said.

"I am in constant contact with [Ukraine’s President] Vladimir Zelensky," Michel specified. "It’s true that he wanted more. But [EU] enlargement is a sensitive issue on which not all European countries have the same opinion." "We should also take into account the countries with which the accession process has already begun. We must support our partners who are looking to the free world. The [EU] Association Agreements have a huge potential, which is underestimated," the head of the European Council stressed.

Russian President Vladimir Putin said in a televised address on February 24 that in response to a request by the leaders of the Donbass republics he had made a decision to carry out a special military operation. The EU called these actions a violation of international law and imposed sanctions.