MINSK, March 25. /TASS/. Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko has said that the Belarusian authorities have no "plans to fight in Ukraine," and called for a calm response to fake news on that subject, he said on Friday at a meeting on mass media.

"I have said a thousand and twenty times that we have no plans to fight in Ukraine. But the issue is hot. Belarusians don’t tolerate war on a genetic level. That is why it has begun to be exploited. We should respond in an appealing way. It used to be sensible in Soviet times to talk not only about propaganda, but also about counter-propaganda. So we need to respond calmly, and not make excuses," BelTA news agency reported citing Lukashenko.

The Belarusian president reproached the opposition, which had fled to the West, for psychologically influencing people by claiming that the Belarusian military would take part in combat operations in the neighboring country. Additionally, he said that opposition activists were setting up volunteer units to fight in Ukraine.

"So who in fact is fighting in Ukraine now?" Lukashenko asked rhetorically.

The Belarusian president believes that allegations from abroad about Belarus’ plans to join the hostilities in the neighboring country were transmitted on purpose.

"Thus, public opinion is being readied in order to drag us into it," Lukashenko maintained. "We can be dragged into the war just one way: in the event aggression is launched against us, in case they go to war against us. That is why I keep my eyes open," the Belarusian president said.