Lukashenko says not going to run for reelection

MINSK. Aug 8 (Interfax) - Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko has said in an interview with Time correspondent Simon Shuster he is not planning to run for reelection.

"No, I am not planning this now, I am no longer planning," Lukashenko said in response to Shuster's question. The state-run First News Channel aired an abstract of the interview on Friday.

He also said he did not view his younger son Nikolai as his successor. "No, he is not a successor. [...] No, no, no. Ask him, you may offend him greatly," Lukashenko said.

It is possible that a person conducting a slightly different policy will be elected next president of Belarus, Lukashenko said. "Just let him not break anything right away, but do as I did - rely on the strong, on what is there, and develop the country in a calm and evolutionary manner to avoid a revolutionary breakdown. If he convinces society that it is necessary to move towards some other situation, for God's sake, let him do it," he said.