**A delegation of diplomats from American states has left Honduras with little sign of progress towards resolving the political crisis in the country.**But the delegates said they had managed to start a dialogue between ousted President Manuel Zelaya and interim leader Roberto Micheletti.
Mr Micheletti has resisted calls to allow Mr Zelaya to return to office.
The delegates also called for an end to the siege on Brazil’s embassy, where Mr Zelaya has been since his return.
Following televised talks in the Honduran capital, Tegucigalpa, Costa Rica’s Foreign Minister Bruno Stagno said that those involved “have hope”.
He said the mission was “convinced that with the start of talks and the direct participation of both parts, the country may emerge from the political crisis”.
Artuno Corrales, a representative of Mr Micheletti’s interim government, also said he thought positive moves had been made during the delegation’s visit.
“I think we have defined an agenda and a work methodology, in less than three hours of work. Obviously there is significant progress,” he said.
Mr Corrales said the parties now had “a calendar for talks” and would continue working to resolve the crisis.
But Mr Zelaya’s supporters say there can be no progress unless the ousted leader is allowed to return to office.
“The talks are at zero. We haven’t progressed since starting,” said Miguel Barahona, a representative for Mr Zelaya.
“The first point we are dealing with is the restitution of President Zelaya and they reject this. If there is no progress made on this matter what is the point of continuing with the following points”
Election deadline
The high-powered diplomatic team includes foreign ministers and deputy foreign ministers from about a dozen countries in the region, as well as Jose Insulza, chief of the Organisation of American States (OAS).
Military cordon around embassy
They had tried to persuade Mr Micheletti that the only way to end the crisis was for him to stand down and allow Mr Zelaya to return to the presidency.
But Mr Micheletti has again insisted he will only give up his claim to the presidency if Mr Zelaya does the same.
He says Mr Zelaya was removed legally according to the Honduran constitution, and that to reverse that decision by decree would be illegal.
The delegation also met Mr Zelaya in the Brazilian embassy in Tegucigalpa, where he has been living since returning to Honduras covertly on 21 September.
He and his supporters have been living on food deliveries and many have been sleeping on the floor, while the building remains surrounded by soldiers.
The delegates called on the interim government to resolve the situation and allow “normal access and consultations” to Mr Zelaya.
The foreign ministers and ambassadors are attempting to use the deadline of November’s forthcoming elections to make the interim government change its mind.
They say that if the polls open on 29 November without Mr Zelaya in power, Honduras cold find itself with another government which is shunned by the outside world.
Mr Zelaya has insisted that he should be restored to the presidency by 15 October, or the election should be postponed.
But Mr Micheletti told the delegates the election would go ahead unless Honduras was “attacked or invaded”.
The ousted leader was sent into exile after trying to hold a vote on whether a constitutional assembly should be set up to look at rewriting the constitution.
His opponents said his actions were in violation of the constitution and aimed at removing the current one-term limit on presidents - a charge Mr Zelaya has denied.