Russian arms manufacturers are willing to comply with NATO standards for equipment manufacturing. This agreement is needed so that Russian firms can compete for contracts to upgrade Russian military equipment to meet NATO standards. East European countries that just joined NATO still have a lot of Russian equipment, and would prefer upgrading it, rather than buying new gear. By meeting NATO standards, Russian equipment would also be easier to sell to other nations. The NATO standards are often very mundane, dealing with things like certifying quality of materials and how they were assembled. But Russian weapons have always had problems with quality control, and this new approach should address some of those concerns.