MOSCOW, July 15. /TASS/. The All-Russia Athletics Federation (RusAF) may be reinstated with the world’s governing body of track and field athletics, World Athletics, by the end of this year, RusAF acting President Irina Privalova told TASS on Friday.

World Athletics President Sebastian Coe announced earlier in the day that the Council of World Athletics decided to extend RusAF’s suspension until the international body’s next session in November.

"We are in a permanent contact with World Athletics and had been aware that the issue of our membership reinstatement with the global organization would be postponed until an audit inspection, which is scheduled for November," Privalova said in an interview with TASS.

"RusAF is ready to provide audit inspectors all required information regarding our implementation of the reinstatement road map," she continued. "We hope that the All-Russia Athletics Federation will be reinstated in its membership rights following the next session of the World Athletics Council."

World Athletics, 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 prohibited Russian athletes from participating in all international track and field tournaments under the national flag.

The World Athletics Council announced its decision on November 22, 2019, to extend the suspension of RusAF’s reinstatement process, based on charges brought by the Athletics Integrity Unit (AIU). According to 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 several 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.

In March 2020, the World Athletics Council ruled to fine RusAF $5 million for its alleged involvement of the previous executive administration’s in an attempt to forge official documents for high jumper Danil Lysenko. RusAF repaid the fine on August 12, 2020.

On November 17, 2021, the Congress of the global body of track and field athletics, World Athletics, voted to extend the membership suspension term of the All-Russia Athletics Federation (RusAF) until the Russian side met all of its reinstatement requirements.