ASHGABAT, Oct. 12 - Turkmenistan is growing unhappy with Ukraine's persistent delays with clearing a $500 mln debt for natural gas supplied earlier this year, a news agency reported Wednesday citing a person familiar with the situation.

Turkmen President Separmurat Niyazov sharply criticized the lack of progress on the debt settlement at a meeting with Ukrainian government energy team, Interfax reported citing the person within the Turkmen government.