KIEV, Dec. 3 - Ukraine will delay payment of its natural gas supply debt to Russian gas company Gazprom because of ongoing popular protests that have blocked the work of the government, an official said Tuesday.

Yevhen Bakulin, the head of the national energy company Naftogaz Ukrayiny, said the original plan was to pay the $765 million debt by December 7.

“We planned to solve this issue by December 7,” Bakulin said at a press conference. “But unfortunately the government is blocked so we have asked Gazprom to treat this situation with understanding and not to take any extreme action.”