Between 1561 and 1721, Estonia was wholly or partially under Swedish rule.[citation needed]
In 1944, Sweden became one of the first among the few countries to recognize the Soviet occupation of the Baltic countries. In 1945, Stockholm extradited to the Soviet Union around 170 Waffen-SS-soldiers from the Baltic countries that had fled the Red Army and found refuge in Sweden. On 15 August 2011, Swedish Prime MinisterFredrik Reinfeldt officially offered an apology to the Prime Ministers of the Baltic states in a ceremony in Stockholm saying that "Sweden owes its Baltic neighbours a "debt of honour" for turning a blind eye to post-war Soviet occupation" and speaking of "a dark moment" in his country's history.[1] Sweden re-recognized Estonia on 27 August 1991.
Bilateral visits
Since Estonia's independence, there have been many visits between leaders and senior officials from the two countries. In the last few years, the most important were:
