restricting temporary weapons deployments on each NATO member’s territory. Russia also want[ed] constraints eliminated on how many forces it can deploy in its southern and northern flanks. Moreover, it is pressing NATO members to ratify a 1999 updated version of the accord, known as the Adapted CFE Treaty, and demanding that the four alliance members outside the original treaty, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, and Slovenia, join it." 2015 indefinite total halt of Russian participation In March 2015, the Russian Federation announced that it had taken the decision to completely halt its participation in the Treaty. Russian diplomat Mikhail Ulyanov said Russia would be unlikely to return to compliance because the accord, "created when the Warsaw Pact was still in existence, is “anachronistic” and “absolutely out of sync with the present realities.”" Content Arms ceilings The CFE Treaty set equal ceilings for each bloc (NATO and the Warsaw Treaty Organization), from the Atlantic to the Urals, on key armaments essential for conducting surprise attacks and initiating large-scale offensive operations. Collectively, the treaty participants agreed that neither side could have more than: 20,000 tanks; 20,000 artillery pieces; 30,000 armored combat vehicles (ACVs); 6,800 combat aircraft; and 2,000 attack helicopters. To further limit the readiness of armed forces, the treaty set equal ceilings on equipment that could be deployed with active units. Other ground equipment had to be place in designated permanent storage sites. The limits for equipment each side could have in active units were: 16,500 tanks; 17,000 artillery pieces; and 27,300 armored combat vehicles (ACVs); The treaty further limited the proportion of armaments that could be held by any one country in Europe to about one-third of the total for all countries in Europe - the "sufficiency" rule. All sea-based Naval forces were excluded from CFE Treaty accountability. Regional arrangements In addition to limits on the number of armaments in each category on each side, the treaty included regional limits intended to prevent destabilizing force concentrations of ground equipment. Destruction To meet required troop ceilings, equipment had to be destroyed or, if possible, converted to non-military purposes. Verification The treaty included unprecedented provisions for detailed information exchanges, on-site inspections, challenge inspections, and on-site monitoring of destruction. Treaty parties received an unlimited right to monitor the process of destruction. Satellite surveillance was used to verify placement and progress on destruction of large military equipment like vehicles and tanks. Joint Consultative Group Finally, the