STOCKHOLM, May 4. /TASS/. Danish shipping company Maersk lost more than 5 billion Danish kroner (about $700 mln) in the first quarter following its withdrawal from the Russian market, the Ritsaus Bureau Agency reported on Wednesday.

Maersk accounts for one sixth of all container traffic in the world. Like a lot of other Western companies, it stopped all operations in Russia and is now trying to sell its assets in Russian ports, including a warehouse, a cold store and a terminal.

"We are in negotiations with several market players, but it is a complex situation. We must also take into account the sanctions that prevail and I suspect that it will take time," CEO Soren Skou said as quoted by the agency.