Rebel head denies negotiatons with Gaddafi regime

Libyan rebel chief Mahmud Jibril denied Friday suggestions by a Russian envoy that the insurgents had been negotiating with Muammar Gaddafi's regime. "I can assure you there is and there was no negotiation between the NTC and the regime," the head of the rebel National Transitional Council told a press conference in Naples. Russian envoy Mikhail Margelov said in Tunis earlier Friday that representatives of Gaddafi had made contact with the rebels in a number of European capitals, including Berlin, Paris and Oslo. Margelov said the Libyans needed an opportunity to negotiate, "a mechanism that brings them together and if the international community can provide such a mechanism that would be a great help".