MOSCOW, March 12. /TASS/. The global governing body of track and field athletics, World Athletics, has decided to resume issuing neutral-status permits for Russian athletes allowing them to take part in international tournaments, promising 10 permits in total, the international federation said in a statement on Thursday.

The statement from World Athletics reads that it "has capped at 10 the number of Authorized Neutral Athletes (ANA) allowed to compete in the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games and other specified World Athletics and European Athletics senior events."

World Athletics ordered RusAF on Thursday to pay $10 million in compensation for breaching the anti-doping regulations regarding the Lysenko case.

"The World Athletics Council today fined the Russian Athletics Federation $10 million for breaching the sport’s Anti-Doping Rules…," the statement from World Athletics reads.

World Athletics announced its decision to resume issuing neutral-status permits for Russian athletes allowing them to take part in international tournaments, promising 10 permits in total until the fine of $10 million was paid in full.

The international federation suspended RusAF’s membership in November 2015, following a wave of anti-doping rules violations and formed a special mission on the issue.

World Athletics, however, allowed clean athletes from Russia to participate in international tournaments under the neutral status or the Authorized Neutral Athlete (ANA) until the membership of the RusAF is reinstated. The ANA status prohibits Russian athletes from participating in all international track and field tournaments under the national flag.

World Athletics Taskforce Group, led by Norwegian expert Rune Andersen, was set up to oversee Russia’s implementation of requirements for RusAF’s membership reinstatement with World Athletics.

Only one Russian track and field athlete was allowed to participate in 2016 Summer Olympics in Brazil and she was Russia’s long jumper Daria Klishina.

The suspension of Russia’s governing athletics body has been ruled to remain in force 12 times since its introduction in 2015 with the most recent decision made on September 23, before the start of the 2019 World Championships in Qatar’s Doha on September 27-October 6.

The World Athletics Council announced on November 22, 2019 its decision to suspend RusAF’s reinstatement process based on charges brought by the Athletics Integrity Unit (AIU). According to the World Athletics, the AIU charged RusAF on November 21, 2019 "with obstructing an investigation and provisionally suspended several senior federation officials for tampering and complicity."

The provisionally suspended senior officials at that time were then-President of RusAF Dmitry Shlyakhtin and three more high-ranking people from the federation for helping to falsify documents, which Russian high jumper Danil Lysenko presented as his excuse for skipping doping tests. Shlyakhtin and three officials at the issue submitted their letters of resignation on November 23.

On January 29, the Athletics Integrity Unit (AIU) recommended World Athletics to consider an expulsion of RusAF from the list of its members in case the Russian side failed to provide evidence in the Lysenko case. The Russian side was advised to review the case once again and to come up with answers in regard to accusations on this issue.