Turkey has signed a protocol to abolish the death penalty even in wartime as it seeks to meet European Union criteria to begin entry talks, Foreign Ministry officials said on Friday.
The European Commission in Brussels welcomed the decision as a "significant step" in Turkey's progress towards establishing a European-style democracy.
"Today our representative at the Council of Europe signed Protocol 13 of the European Convention on Human Rights which lifts the death penalty during wartime," a Foreign Ministry official told Reuters.
European Commission spokesman Jean-Christophe Filori said he was aware of reports the Turkish government had decided to sign the protocol prohibiting the death penalty.
Filori said he understood the decision to sign Protocol 13 still needed to be ratified by parliament.
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