TEGUCIGALPA, Oct 16 (Reuters) - Talks to resolve a post-coup crisis in Honduras hit a deadlock on Friday, as de facto leader Roberto Micheletti resisted international pressure to reinstate toppled President Manuel Zelaya. Negotiators for Zelaya refused a proposal by Micheletti to have the Supreme Court rule on his return to office. The court supported his ouster and is unlikely to restore him to power.Micheletti is hoping to stay at the helm until a new president is chosen in a Nov. 29 election, although he may give in to the United States, the coffee-exporting nation's top trade partner, which wants Zelaya back before the vote.
| It's just six weeks, Roberto ... |
Although Meza said the negotiations continued, the two sides have not substantially changed position in days. Zelaya is prepared to have his reinstatement made legal by Congress. But Micheletti appears determined his former friend and political ally will not return to office despite signs of back channel pressure from the United States.
Vilma Morales, one of Micheletti's three envoys at the talks, earlier said they would work to win his approval for a deal, but said there was still disagreement. "Even so, we are heading into the last phase and believe we will successfully get there," Morales, a former Supreme Court president, told reporters.
The negotiators repeatedly hurried out of the talks in an upscale hotel in the Honduran capital to consult with their leaders on Friday, while a small group of Zelaya supporters gathered outside, closely watched by riot police.
Micheletti, a brusque political veteran named president shortly after the coup, got a boost this week when Honduras qualified for soccer's World Cup, giving the divided country a brief sense of unity. Thousands of people accompanied the national team to the presidential palace on Thursday, the first big public gathering since Micheletti gave the police and army broad powers to suppress pro-Zelaya protests.