You're reading: Lukashenko says he is not a dictator

Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko has dismissed accusations that Belarus is a dictatorship and said that delivering on his political promises was the secret to the success of his policy.

"This [dictatorship] is not my scene. I have never been and will never be a dictator because I was not born one. One has to be born a dictator. But I will never break the harmony of our society and will never go against the desires of our public, and it has never been in the nature of our people to want dictatorship or to want to enthrone a dictator," the Belarusian leader said in an interview with the German media.

Dictatorship is impossible in Belarus because the country does not have the resources for it and the only country in the world that does have such resources is the United States, he said.

In regard to the Belarusian political system Lukashenko said: "You might or might not like it, but it is there and we created it on the basis of our realities and not in order to please you."

"We must draw certain conclusions from historical facts. Dictatorship is bad for any society and sooner or later it leads to the collapse of a state. We are aware of it," he said.