Lithuania and Estonia on Saturday welcomed US President Donald Trump's signing of legislation expanding sanctions against Russia, saying the measure would increase pressure on Moscow over the war in Ukraine.
Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda said his country welcomed the signing of the Lindsey O. Graham Sanctioning Russia and Iran Act of 2026.
"This is another strong signal to the aggressor Russia: stop the war against Ukraine and choose peace," Nauseda said in a post on the US social media company X.
"The longer Russia continues its aggression, the stronger and more consequential the international pressure will become," he added.
Lithuanian Foreign Minister Kestutis Budrys said the law would bring "more pressure on Russia" and "more costs for those enabling Kremlin aggression."
He said Russia's war machine, shadow fleet, banks and energy revenues would face increased pressure, while calling on the EU to move ahead with its 22nd sanctions package and prepare further measures.
"Russia understands strength, not hesitation. When we act united and determined, the Kremlin's room for manoeuvre shrinks," Budrys said.
Estonian Foreign Minister Margus Tsahkna also welcomed the legislation, saying that "the pressure on Russia is tightening."
Tsahkna said energy exports remained a "critical source of financing" for Russia's war in Ukraine and called on the international community to use available measures to increase pressure on Moscow and deepen its isolation.
"The cost of war must continue to rise until Russia ends its aggression against Ukraine," he said.
Trump signed the Lindsey O. Graham Sanctioning Russia and Iran Act of 2026 into law on Friday, according to the White House.
The House of Representatives passed the legislation Wednesday after the Senate approved it last month in an 86-11 vote.
Named after the late Sen. Lindsey Graham, the legislation authorizes and expands statutory sanctions, tariffs and prohibitions targeting Russia and extends existing sanctions on Iran.
The act provides for primary and secondary sanctions against Russia and individuals or entities supporting its war in Ukraine, including Russian officials, oligarchs, their family members, foreign persons, banks and other financial institutions.
It also allows the president to impose targeted tariffs on goods imported from countries that purchase the vast majority of Russian oil or gas or facilitate the evasion of US sanctions.
