RusAF agreed to meet a deadline of March 18 for payment of monies owed from the third and fourth quarter of 2021.

These sums relate to costs involved in the reinstatement programme being overseen by World Athletics’ Russian Taskforce following RusAF’s ban from international competition in 2015 after revelations of a state-wide doping programme.

But it is understood that that deadline has ceased to become a hard deadline and confirmation of the promised payment is not likely to be received until the end of next week.

On Friday (March 11) Rune Andersen, the Norwegian chair of the Russian Taskforce, told insidethegames that RusAF were being required to repay their arrears by March 18 or risk the gains of all recent work on reinstatement being lost.

In his report to the World Athletics Council on Thursday (March 10) Andersen said RusAF had been making "good progress" towards reinstatement.

Andersen's recommendation that the process continued despite the ban imposed upon Russian and Belarusian athletes by World Athletics in the wake of the Russian invasion of Ukraine was endorsed by the Council.

But his written report referenced "a significant further concern", pointing out that RusAF had not kept up with the reinstatement condition to reimburse World Athletics "on a timely basis" for all the reinstatement process costs it had incurred.

"World Athletics has invoiced RusAF for the reinstatement costs incurred by World Athletics in the third and fourth quarters of 2021," Andersen wrote.

"Neither invoice has been paid and the payment due dates have passed.

"The Taskforce understands that, as a matter of urgency, RusAF is making arrangements for payment as soon as possible.

"If payment is not made then as a breach of the reinstatement conditions the Taskforce will recommend to the Council what action to take as a consequence of a serious breach of RusAF’s obligations under the reinstatement plan.

"The recommended action may include a suspension of the reinstatement process."

In an additional comment to insidethegames prior to news of the timetable shift, Andersen had offered a starker warning.

"World Athletics and I have received assurances from RusAF and the Russian Sports Minister that the two outstanding invoices will be paid next week," he said.

"Should this not happen by Friday (March 18) then World Athletics has made clear to RusAF there will be no scope for World Athletics to continue to finance the reinstatement process.

"As a consequence, the reinstatement process will have to be suspended which would include, crucially, stopping the work of the Russian Taskforce and also the international experts.

"This will not only impact RusAF as an organisation and the steps it has taken so far towards reinstatement but all the work that has gone into the reinstatement plan, KPIs, milestones and post-reinstatement conditions will be lost."