U.S. says Zelaya is the only president of Honduras
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Obama administration recognizes ousted President Manuel Zelaya as the only constitutional president of Honduras, a senior administration official said on Sunday.
"We recognize Zelaya as the duly elected and constitutional president of Honduras. We see no other," the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, told reporters in a conference call organized by the U.S. State Department.
A second official on the same conference call stressed that the United States strongly backed efforts by the Organization of American States to forge a resolution condemning a coup d'etat ousting Zelaya on Sunday and calling for him to be reinstated.
"This is not a process that should be interfered with bilaterally by any country in the Americas," said the second official.
"Ultimately the answer is going to arise from a resolution of the political tensions that led us to this moment."
The two officials also reiterated earlier U.S. statements that condemned the Honduran military's takeover and called for a return to the democratic rule of law and a peaceful resolution of the crisis through dialogue.
(Reporting by David Morgan, editing by Philip Barbara)
