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Obama said that while in Europe, he will reinforce the U.S. commitment to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization and the defense of any member that comes under attack. Those allies include several on the front lines of the confrontation, such as former Soviet satellite states Poland and Lithuania, which got visits by vice President Joe Biden earlier this week. Obama has emphasized that there are no plans to confront Russia militarily. "We do not need to trigger an actual war with Russia," Obama said in an interview with St. Louis television station KSDK recorded at the white House yesterday. "The Ukrainians don't want that, nobody would want that." In his remarks today, Obama again urged the u.s. congress to finish work on an aid package for Ukraine, which includes S1 billion in loan guarantees. The aid has been tied up by opposition from House Republicans to a provision that would transfer funds to boost the U.S. share at the International Monetary Fund. The administration argues that the funding would help the IMF assist Ukraine. "Expressions of support are not enough," Obama said. "We need action." Loan Guarantee The European Commission, the EU's executive arm, yesterday proposed adding 1 billion euros (51.4 billion) to a previously approved 610 million euros in budget support for Ukraine. The European aid would accompany an IMF package that's being negotiated. "The most urgent thing to do is to make all our efforts to sustain a credible, stable, viable, democratic, prosperous Ukraine," the commission's president, Jose Barroso, said today. EU leaders will also sign the political provisions of a trade accord with Ukraine tomorrow. For Related News and Information: IMF Bailout Fatigue Among Republicans Delaying Ukraine Aid NSN N2QRRR6JIJUZ <GO> Merkel, Hollande Warn on Russia Sanctions Revealing EU Split NSN N2QRQ06KLVRS <GO> Ukraine Military Concedes on Crimea as Russia Tightens Grip NSN NZQONJ6JTSF1 <GO> Top Government Stories: GTOP <GO> White House Stories: NI EXE <GO> --with assistance from Julianna Goldman, Kasia Klimasinska, Jonathan Allen and David Lerman in Washington, Ilya Arkhipov in Moscow, Angela Greiling Keane in Miami and Halia Pavliva in New York. To contact the reporters on this stor : Ro er Runnin en in Washington at or James G. Neu er in Brussels at or To contact tie e itors res onsible for this story: Steven Komarow at or Joe So czy , Mic ae S epard (Embedded image moved to file: pic27139.gif) Tazia Smith Director I Key Client Partners - US Deutsche Bank Securities Inc Deutsche Asset & Wealth Management 345 Park Avenue, 26th Floor New York NY 10154 Tel. Fax CONFIDENTIAL - PURSUANT TO FED. R. CRIM. P. 6(e) DB-SDNY-0 102644 CONFIDENTIAL SDNY_GM_00248828 EFTA01447877