MINSK, Belarus (AP) — Belarus' president has rejected prospective steps against domestic violence as Western "nonsense," saying that physical punishment could be useful in raising children.

Alexander Lukashenko said a draft bill criminalizing domestic violence needs more work. He told journalists Friday that he is personally against physical punishment of children, but added that a "good belting could be useful for a kid."

The president cited his own experience with his sons, saying he frequently punished his oldest child and that served as a good lesson for his younger son. He noted that Belarusians should follow its own traditions and not imitate "nonsense taken from the West."

Lukashenko has ruled Belarus with an iron hand for 24 years, maintaining rigid Soviet-style controls over the economy and showing little tolerance for dissent or independent media.