Syria rebels begin new talks with Russia over peace deal

AMMAN - Syrian rebel negotiators began a new round of talks with Russian officers on Tuesday over a peace deal in southern Syria that would hand over their weapons and allow Russian military police to enter rebel-held towns, a rebel spokesman said.Ibrahim al Jabawi said the rebels had carried to the negotiating table their "response to a list of Russian demands" that include the handing over of weapons and settling the status of rebels in a deal that ends the fighting.The Russian demands, handed to rebels in a meeting in a town in southern Syria on Saturday, had prompted a walkout by the rebels, who said the terms were humiliating. The opposition team was persuaded by Jordan to go back to the negotiating table, diplomatic sources said.