UPDATE 1-Ukraine's Naftogaz says pays Russian March gas bill

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KIEV, April 7 (Reuters) - Ukraine has paid its March gas bill to Russian gas export monopoly Gazprom (GAZP.MM), Ukraine's state energy company Naftogaz said on Tuesday.

"Naftogaz has transferred the money," Naftogaz spokesman Valentyn Zemlyansky told Reuters. Gazprom declined immediate comment.

Gazprom has set a deadline for Naftogaz to pay for monthly deliveries before the seventh of the following month and payments are closely watched for signs the two companies can avert a new gas war.

Pricing disputes between Russia and Ukraine have drastically cut deliveries to Europe in past years, including in January this year. Gazprom, the world's largest gas producer, supplies Europe with a fifth of its gas needs via Ukraine.

Ukraine's February gas bill stood at $360 million and is set to fall as gas prices adjust to oil prices with a lag of six to nine months.

Ukraine has agreed a $16.4 billion lending programme with the International Monetary Fund to weather the effects of the global crisis and Gazprom has repeatedly said it is worried Naftogaz could fail to pay its bills. (Reporting by Pavel Polityuk, writing by Dmitry Zhdannikov; editing by Sue Thomas)