According to him, the severity of the proposed punishment is due to the military circumstances; in peacetime, the deputies could have excluded him for three sessions.
"Since we do not have separate sessions and only one session with breaks, this suspension for six months might be perceived in Europe as excessive punishment... And I would generally prefer that it not be seen that way," he said.
On January 30, the committee on regulations, deputy ethics, and parliamentary organization voted for Poroshenko's six-month suspension for inappropriate behavior in the corridors. For it to take effect, it must be supported by the entire Rada during a session.
Poturayev indicated that he would vote in favor. At the same time, he is open to supporting an alternative solution with a shorter duration, including regarding himself as a participant in the incident.
Moreover, he stated that the issue could have been resolved with timely apologies from the former president.
"If he had taken 10 seconds to say, 'I was wrong,' – now everything is emotional, we understand that there is a war, everyone is under stress – then there wouldn't have been those two hours [which the regulations committee session lasted] and all of this," the deputy added.