MP: Estonia loses a 'good friend' with US Senator Lindsey Graham's death
U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham, who died on Saturday, was a "good" and "steadfast" friend of Estonia, and his unexpected death is a loss for regional security, Estonia's politicians have said.
Graham, a Republican and close ally of US President Donald Trump, died at the age of 71 on Saturday evening following "a brief and sudden illness," his office said.
The politician, elected to the Senate in 2002, was one of Washington's most influential voices on foreign policy and had just returned from a working visit to Kyiv.
Minister of Foreign Affairs Margus Tsahkna (Eesti 200) said Estonia will remember the senator as a "steadfast friend, a strong supporter of NATO's eastern flank, and an unwavering advocate for Ukraine."
My heartfelt condolences on the passing of Senator Lindsey Graham.
— Margus Tsahkna (@Tsahkna) July 12, 2026
Estonia will remember him as a steadfast friend, a strong supporter of NATO's eastern flank, and an unwavering advocate for Ukraine. My thoughts are with his family, friends, colleagues, and the American people.
Estonia's Ambassador to the USA Kristjan Prikk shared a photo of himself with Graham, and said meetings were "full of substance and energy."
"Few U.S. Senators I've met were as passionate about the Transatlantic Alliance and about making sure adversaries paid a price as Lindsey Graham was," he wrote on X.
Few U.S. Senators I've met were as passionate about the Transatlantic Alliance and about making sure adversaries paid a price as @LindseyGrahamSC was.
— Kristjan Prikk (@kprikk) July 12, 2026
He visited Estonia several times. Every meeting with him was full of substance and energy.
Rest in peace, Senator Graham. pic.twitter.com/qAWB3Zwrrz
Estonian MP Raimond Kaljulaid (SDE) told ERR: "We have lost one of our good friends at the highest level of U.S. politics."
"Lindsey Graham was certainly one of those people in the Senate who was a very strong supporter of Ukraine, whose stance towards Russia was very close to ours, and who also understood how important ensuring the security of NATO's eastern flank countries, and specifically Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, is for the United States," he continued.
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Editor: Helen Wright, Aleksander Krjukov
