Lukashenko willing to hand over the task: I am not holy

We need a new Constitution. They suggested two versions. I refused because they're a little different than the current one. We're working on version three. Come, sit down and we'll work on the Constitution,” said the Belarusian leader, adding that he would not leave the task under pressure.

He added that the government in Belarus will never fall, and even though some people got the impression that it has already fallen and does not exist.

I'm not eternal. But if you destroy your first president, you will destroy, like in neighbouring countries, everyone else. Belarusites should not do that,” said Lukashenko.

Lukashenko said he was not a “a saint”, that he was rude in character, while calling on protesters not to provoke the police.

“We will respond to provocations in an appropriate way”, he said.

At one of the largest opposition gatherings in Belarus's history, tens of thousands of people in Minsk demanded yesterday's departure of Lukashenko, a week after his controversial re-election.

AFP estimates that more than 100,000 gathered, while independent media Tut. By saying this is the largest gathering since the country's independence in 1991.

At the invitation of Svetlana Tikhanovskaya, Alexander Lukashenko's main opponent in the presidential election, Belarusites also protested in a number of other cities in the country.

Belarus's 65-year-old president has rejected the opposition's call for new presidential elections, as he won 80 per cent of the vote on 9 August.

There is widespread belief that Alexander Lucas is the result of electoral fraud, while more and more supporters have his opponent Tikhanovskaya (37), who fled to Lithuania.

Following last Sunday's elections, special forces have killed at least two people and injured dozens more. Since Thursday, protests have spread, and opposition rallies are emerging throughout the country. The Kremlin has said earlier that Russian President Vladimir Putin has pledged support in line with the military agreement if the country is put under pressure from abroad.