Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko denied on Sunday reports that he has made arrangements for his youngest son to succeed him as the country`s leader.

The existence of Lukashenko`s third son had been a secret until he made the announcement in 2007. Lukashenko said at that time that "speaking about a successor, I`ll be preparing the youngest son - he is a unique person."

When asked by Austrian magazine Die Presse whether he was actually making such preparations, Lukashenko said: "This is impossible in our country. If I spoke about my son, this was a joke. But journalists somehow interpreted this news seriously."

Asked whether he will be president in 10 years` time, Lukashenko said that by then a new leadership will have emerged, and that "only the Belarusian people will determine who will be the president of our country."

Regular presidential elections are due in Belarus in 2011. Lukashenko has ruled Belarus since 1994.
sections: Politics