Today: US CALLS FOR DEAL TO END HONDURAS CRISIS "NOW"

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"U.S. calls for deal to end Honduras crisis "now"
Tue Jul 21, 2009 5:07pm EDT

By Tim Gaynor

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States called on the rivals in Honduras' political crisis on Tuesday to reach a quick deal to restore democratic rule with the return of ousted President Manuel Zelaya.

The de facto government that took power when Zelaya was toppled in a June 28 coup has not been recognized by any other country but has flatly refused to allow his return to power.

Since negotiations mediated by Costa Rican President Oscar Arias collapsed on Sunday, the United States has stepped up pressure on the de facto government and again threw its support behind Arias and his proposals on Tuesday.

"We're in constant contact with a number of countries in the hemisphere regarding the situation in Honduras, and we believe the Arias mediation is the right way to go, and the time is now to ... resolve this issue," State Department deputy spokesman Robert A. Wood told reporters.

"We think that this is the best (way) ... to restore the constitutional order in the country, and we want to see that happen now," he said.

Speaking from exile in Nicaragua, Zelaya said he would soon be back in Honduras.

"It is impossible to sustain a regime with bayonets. The world will not allow it, starting with the United States," he said in an interview with Honduras' Radio Globo.

Arias's seven-point plan includes Zelaya's return to Honduras and the formation of a coalition government that includes rival parties. The Costa Rican leader hopes to lure both sides back to the negotiating table on Wednesday.

President Barack Obama has cut $16.5 million in military aid to Honduras but has largely taken a hands-off approach to the crisis, leaving Arias and the Organization of American States to take the lead.

Some U.S. Republican lawmakers have opposed efforts to restore left-leaning Zelaya as president.

A group of 17 Senators wrote to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton this month, expressing concern that Washington's pro-Zelaya stance would legitimize "abuses of power" and "violations of the Honduran constitution" by Zelaya, who was ousted after he south to change presidential term limits

Senator Jim DeMint, a Republican unhappy with U.S. policy on Honduras delayed a committee vote on Tuesday to confirm the nominee to head the State Department's bureau of western hemisphere affairs in protest.

(Additional reporting by Susan Cornwell in Washington)

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http://www.reuters.com/article/politicsNews/idUSTRE56K5WX20090721