Lucic: Pressure on MTS is part of the overall pressure on the Serbian people in Kosovo

Vladimir Lucic, the CEO of Telekom Serbia, pointed out that their subsidiary company, MTS DOO, operating in Kosovo, had been facing problems with the administration of Albin Kurti for the past year, and he assessed that this reflected the intention to increase pressure on the Serbian people in Kosovo.

Lucic told Kosovo Online that they had previously maintained good relations with all regulatory bodies and had respected the Brussels Agreement.

"It's clear that there has been an intention to put pressure on the Serbian people over the past year. Our company is facing the greatest pressure in this regard, and we received a shutdown order a month ago, which we appealed," Lucic said.

However, Lucic emphasizes that he is optimistic that this case will end in Telekom's favor.

"According to the Brussels Agreement, any potential shutdown the way they envisaged it would not only be a violation of the Brussels Agreement but also a violation of their own laws. I think this should be a signal to the international community because how can you trust someone to fulfill agreements when they don't even respect their own laws," Lucic noted.

He adds that for this reason, he is optimistic that Telekom will achieve a small victory in this case.

"The international community has sided with us in the Telekom case, on the side of truth. I am convinced that this case will be a small victory, and it is important for our company to stay because we employ people and provide internet and television signals to 300,000 households. Just imagine if they were cut off from being able to watch television; it would lead to an escalation," Lucic said.

Lucic states that this case also represents a test for the international community, especially considering a recent incident where Kosovo authorities attempted to shut down the largest opposition media outlet, Klan Kosova.

"The international community rightly stood up, and they backed down. In the same, or even more absurd manner, they are trying to shut down MTS, so it's a test for the international community because if they stood up for an opposition media outlet, they should prevent this kind of harassment of investors. We are the largest company, and it would be abnormal to shut us down with just some paperwork," Lucic concluded.