Russia's suspended athletics federation said on Wednesday it had paid a multimillion-dollar fine to World Athletics in a move that could help it avoid expulsion by the sport's global governing body. 

Last month, World Athletics said the federation would be expelled if it failed to pay 6.31 million U.S. dollars, a sum that includes a fine for breaching anti-doping rules, before August 15. 

World Athletics also said at the time that no Russian athletes could be cleared to compete internationally until the payment was made. 

The Russian athletics federation (RUSAF) said it "paid ... the fine in full" on Wednesday "thanks to support from the sports ministry." 

The 6.3 million dollars was the remaining part of a 10-million-dollar fine that the Russian federation only partially paid off by July 1, when the Federation said it did not have enough funds to cover all and that it was still seeking external funding.

The RUSAF has been suspended since 2015, and its athletes were barred from the 2016 Rio Olympics.

An expulsion would have sidelined Russian athletes from international competitions including the Tokyo Olympics next year. 

World Athletics has also demanded the RUSAF set out a detailed plan for its reinstatement by August 31, including commitments for anti-doping and governance reforms.

(With input from agencies)