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Honduran talks resume, radio says deal may be near
TEGUCIGALPA (Reuters) - Ousted Honduran President Manuel Zelaya and de facto rulers in power since a June "We are at the same point as where we started, with 95 percent agreed on," Zelaya said. "There is absolutely no approval yet of anything." A team led by U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Tom Shannon and Dan Restrepo, Washington's special assistant for Western Hemisphere affairs, is in Tegucigalpa for a last-ditch effort to broker a resolution. Zelaya, holed up in the Brazilian Embassy surrounded by troops, pulled out of the most recent talks last week. "Time is running out. We only have a month. We need an agreement as soon as possible," Shannon said after the U.S. officials met with both sides. Radio Globo said a deal, including an agreement on letting Zelaya serve the end of his term to January, was close to completion and awaiting approval by the country's Congress. Zelaya adviser Rasel Tome said the talks were advancing. "We are in the course, in the moments of history, hoping (an accord) will be signed. We are going well," he told Reuters. Vilma Morales, an envoy for de facto leader Roberto Micheletti, noted the Supreme Court -- which ordered the The coffee-producing Central American country has been diplomatically isolated since Zelaya was rousted at dawn by soldiers and flown to exile on a military plane. He had angered many in Honduras by warming up to socialist Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez. Critics also alleged he was seeking backing to extend presidential term limits, something he denies. Critics of Micheletti, who was appointed by Congress after the coup, say he wants to stay in power until a presidential election scheduled for November 29. In a sign the United States is stepping up its involvement, Shannon sat in on Thursday's talks and said his delegation would stay an extra day to help Hondurans broker a deal. Posted by: Steve White 2009-10-30 |
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