Honduras government open to fresh OAS mission: U.S.

UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - The de facto government of Honduras has invited an Organization of American States mission to try to bring about a dialogue with ousted President Manuel Zelaya, the U.S. State Department said on Wednesday.

"We understand the de facto regime's foreign minister ... publicly invited a representative group of foreign ministers from OAS countries to come to Tegucigalpa and help promote a dialogue," State Department spokesman Ian Kelly said.

"We welcome that announcement and we look forward to supporting that initiative," he told reporters in Washington.

Zelaya slipped back into Honduras on Monday, ending almost three months of exile since the leftist leader was toppled in a June 28 coup and bringing the world's attention to his cause again.

Honduran soldiers and riot police surrounded the Brazilian Embassy in Tegucigalpa, where Zelaya was sheltering in what could turn into a long standoff and deepen the nation's political crisis.

The Obama administration has urged Honduran authorities to accept proposals put forward by Costa Rican President Oscar Arias, whose efforts to end the crisis have stalled over the de facto government's refusal to allow Zelaya to return to office.

The San Jose accord proposed in July by the Nobel Peace Prize winner would have allowed Zelaya to return to office until elections are held by the end of November.

A U.S. official, who spoke on condition that he not be identified, said he would expect an OAS mission to include the regional organization's chief, Jose Miguel Insulza, as well as representatives from Argentina, Canada, Costa Rica, Jamaica, Mexico, Panama and the Dominican Republic.

Foreign ministers of the seven nations visited the poor Central American nation in August to try to persuade the interim government to accept a deal that would let Zelaya back into power until elections can be held in November.

(Reporting by Arshad Mohammed, Editing by Doina Chiacu)