Give talks a chance, U.S. tells Honduras rivals

By Sarah Grainger

GUATEMALA CITY (Reuters) - The United States urged the rival sides in Honduras' political crisis on Tuesday to give dialogue a chance, but the deposed president said he would only discuss his immediate reinstatement at talks set for this weekend.

Ousted President Manuel Zelaya, who was toppled in a June 28 coup but has international backing for his return to office, insisted that only his restoration would end Central America's worst political crisis since the Cold War.

Speaking in Guatemala City, Zelaya said he would attend a second round of talks called for Saturday in Costa Rica by that country's president, Oscar Arias, who is acting as mediator.

Zelaya would press the ultimatum he laid down on Monday for the interim government installed after the coup, led by Roberto Micheletti, to give him back power immediately. If not, he has threatened to abandon the dialogue process.

"I'll be there at the weekend with the negotiating commissions, (but) the only thing that can be negotiated is the timing and the manner of the exit of the coup leaders," Zelaya told a news conference.

But Micheletti, the provisional president appointed by Honduras' Congress after the coup, is adamant Zelaya cannot return to power under any circumstances because he was trying to illegally extend his rule by seeking to lift presidential term limits. His removal was lawful, Micheletti says.

Earlier on Tuesday, both the U.S. government and mediator Arias had responded to Zelaya's ultimatum by urging both sides in the crisis to give an opportunity to dialogue.

"All parties in the talks should give this process some time. Don't set any artificial deadlines," U.S. State Department spokesman Ian Kelly told reporters in Washington.

Arias, who won the 1987 Nobel Peace Prize for his efforts to help end Central American civil wars, is struggling to keep alive hopes for a negotiated solution.

Two days of talks in Costa Rica last week between the rival delegations failed to achieve any real progress. Zelaya and Micheletti refused to meet face-to-face and it was not clear whether they would be prepared to do so on Saturday.

"RIGHT TO INSURRECTION"

Micheletti's interim foreign minister and chief negotiator, Carlos Lopez, said he hoped Zelaya's side would not abandon the Costa Rica talks. "We're not making any threats," he said.

Honduras, which exports bananas, coffee and textiles, has a long history of coups, returning to democracy only in the 1980s after 30 years of mainly military rule in the impoverished Central American country.

Zelaya has promised to return home, and although he has vowed to avoid violence, he says those who support him have the "right to insurrection" because he was unlawfully deposed.

"The whole world ... has said it will not recognize a military government with civilian puppets," he said.