Estonia–Latvia relations Estonia–Latvia relations Estonia and Latvia, the two northernmost Baltic states, share 343 km of common borders. Both states share a long common history, having since the 13th century been ruled by the Livonian Order, Poland-Lithuania, Sweden and finally, until achieving independence in 1918, the Russian Empire. They were both re-occupied by the USSR between 1945 and 1991. Both countries reestablished diplomatic relations on January 3, 1992. Estonia has an embassy in Riga. Latvia has an embassy in Tallinn. Both countries are full members of the Council of the Baltic Sea States, NATO and the European Union. The two countries were
Languages of Estonia residing in the coastal areas and islands of what is now western and northern Estonia. The beginning of the continuous settlement of Estonian Swedes in these areas (known as "Aiboland") dates back to the 13th and 14th centuries, when their Swedish-speaking ancestors arrived in Estonia from what is now Sweden and Finland. Almost all of Estonia's Swedish-speaking minority fled to Sweden during World War II, and only the descendants of a few individuals who opted to stay are permanently resident in Estonia today. The Estonian Sign Language (ESL, ) is the national sign language of Estonia. In 1998 there were