Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan on Wednesday vowed to sign off on the death penalty if parliament passed it, secular Cumhuriyet daily reported.

The statement from Turkey’s strongman came during the funeral ceremony for a woman and her 11-month-old baby killed by and improvised explosive device alleged to have been set off by the outlawed Kurdistan Worker’s Party (PKK) in Yüksekova in the southeastern province of Hakkari.

The PKK is armed group designated as a terrorist organization which has been in war in Turkey for over 30 years.

‘’If it [the death penalty] is passed in parliament then there is no such thing as not signing off on it. They need to pay the for the massacre they have committed. There will be steps taken to this end very soon,’’ Erdoğan said while speaking to members of the press.

The Turkish president has previously stressed that he would approve, “without hesitation” the death penalty, if parliament voted to restore it — a move that would effectively end the country’s decades-long bid to join the EU.