No breakthrough in Honduras peace talks

Honduran officials representing deposed President Manuel Zelaya and interim leader Roberto Micheletti met for a second day in Costa Rica today, after the two leaders avoided meeting face-to-face yesterday.

Micheletti insisted Zelaya's removal was lawful because he violated the constitution in seeking to lift presidential term limits and said he would not be allowed to return to Honduras unless it was to face trial. Zelaya in turn called Micheletti a criminal guilty of treason who must step down within 24 hours.

The delegations met with Costa Rican President Oscar Arias at his residence in the capital, San Jose, to try to resolve the nearly two-week stalemate and prevent more violence in the country. Arias yesterday called for patience and perseverance.

“The two sides are very far apart and these things take time,” Arias said. “I’ve always said that dialogue can produce miracles, but not immediately unfortunately.”

Costa Rica's Foreign Minister Bruno Stagno insisted however there were some areas of agreement and said he hoped Friday's talks could produce guidelines for moving forward, and maybe set a date for the rival leaders to meet.

On his return to the Honduran capital, Tegucigalpa, on Thursday, Micheletti said he was ready to return to the talks "if necessary."

While the interim government in Honduras has institutional support from the Supreme Court and Congress, it is facing international pressure after the Organization of American States voted to remove Honduras as a member and the U.S. cut military aid to the Central American nation.

“It’s difficult to talk about a successful negotiation that doesn’t involve the restitution of Zelaya as president,” Arias said. “The dialogue has to continue and eventually it will have to be them two that reach a deal.”

Micheletti, who left Honduras for the first time since being sworn in as interim president, said he was “totally satisfied” with the talks. Micheletti has already left Costa Rica, although dialogue will continue with his representatives.

“The topic that we won’t discuss is the return of former President Zelaya – unless he is appearing before the courts,” he said speaking after his return to Honduras. “As I told President Arias, it was not a coup d’etat. It was a constitutional succession.”