Independence was restored by the Estonian Supreme Council on the night of 20 August. The Latvian parliament made similar a declaration on the same day. The coup failed but the collapse of the Soviet Union became unavoidable. After the coup collapsed, the Soviet government recognised the independence of all three Baltic states on 6 September 1991. The Russian Federation assumed the burden and the subsequent withdrawal of the occupation force, consisting of about 150,000 former Soviet, now Russian, troops stationed in the Baltic states. In 1992 there were still 120,000 Russian troops there, as well as a large number of military pensioners, particularly in Estonia and Latvia. During the period of negotiations, Russia hoped to retain facilities such as the Liepaja naval base, the Skrunda anti-ballistic missile radar station and the Ventspils space-monitoring station in Latvia and the Paldiski submarine base in Estonia, as well as transit rights to Kaliningrad through Lithuania. Contention arose when Russia threatened to keep its troops where they were. Moscow's linkage to specific legislation guaranteeing the civil rights of ethnic Russians was seen as an implied threat in the West, in the U.N. General Assembly and by Baltic leaders, who viewed it as Russian imperialism. Lithuania was the first to complete the withdrawal of Russian troops—on August 31, 1993—owing in part to the Kaliningrad issue. Subsequent agreements to withdraw troops from Latvia were signed on April 30, 1994, and from Estonia on July 26, 1994. Continued linkage on the part of Russia resulted in a threat by the U.S. Senate in mid-July to halt all aid to Russia in case the forces were not withdrawn by the end of August. Final withdrawal was completed on August 31, 1994. Some Russian troops remained stationed in Estonia in Paldiski until the Russian military base was dismantled and the nuclear reactors suspended operations on September 26, 1995. Russia operated the Skrunda-1 radar station until it was decommissioned on August 31, 1998. The Russian Government then had to dismantle and remove the radar equipment; this work was completed by October 1999 when the site was returned to Latvia. The last Russian soldier left the region that month, marking a symbolic end to the Russian military presence on Baltic soil. In the years following the reestablishment of Baltic independence, tensions have remained between indigenous Balts and Russian speaking settlers in Estonia and Latvia. While requirements for getting citizenship in the Baltic states are relatively liberal, a lack of attention to the rights of Russian-speaking and stateless individuals in the Baltic states has been noted by some experts, whereas all international organisations agree that no forms of systematic discrimination towards the Russian-speaking and often stateless population can be observed.