Turkcell said that a lawsuit initiated by shareholder TeliaSonera calling for an extraordinary general meeting had been rejected by the courts, on the grounds that it “lacked a precedent.” TeliaSonera and Russian partner Altimo are embroiled in a long-running ownership battle, wanting to combine their holdings in Turkcell with those of Russian operator Megafon, to create a single firm in which they would be the largest shareholders. This is being contested by Turkish firm Cukurova, which is a significant Turkcell investor.