Estonia–Sweden relations are foreign relations between Estonia and Sweden. Estonia was wholly or partially under Swedish rule between 1561 and 1721. 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 who had fled the Red Army and found refuge in Sweden. On 15 August 2011, Swedish Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt officially apologized to the prime ministers of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania 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. Sweden re-recognized Es