MOSCOW, June 6 -- The invitations went out to every African government and every regional bloc the continent has produced. Now, Tatiana Dovgalenko says, the replies are coming in.

Dovgalenko, who directs the Department for Partnership with Africa at the Russian Foreign Ministry, said on Friday that Moscow is "actively receiving confirmations" of participation in the third Russia-Africa Summit, set for October 28-29 in the capital. She was speaking on the sidelines of the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum, which wrapped its final day with more than $89 billion in deals signed.

The summit, the third of its kind since the inaugural 2019 gathering in Sochi, is shaping up as a test of whether Russia's diplomatic outreach to Africa ...