Honduras is on the verge of ending a four-month political crisis after rival camps cut a deal that could return ousted President Manuel Zelaya to power and earn international support for a November 29 election. Buckling under pressure from US diplomats, negotiators for Zelaya, toppled in a June 28 coup, and the de facto leader Roberto Micheletti who replaced him, agreed to put an end to Central America's worst political turmoil in two decades.
The deal, a diplomatic victory for US President Barack Obama, leaves it up to the Honduran Congress to decide whether Zelaya can be restored to serve the last few months of his term - the question that caused earlier talks to stumble. "We've taken a first step," Zelaya said on Friday as negotiators put final signatures to the agreement that could end months of isolation for the poor coffee-producing nation.
Zelaya supporters celebrated and even some opponents said they preferred to see him restored than carry on with a crisis that disrupted everyday life. "I hope Mel comes back because everything was peaceful and better before," said ice cream vendor Ramon Sanchez, 41, using the leftist's nickname.
A vote by Congress is expected after the Supreme Court gives a non-binding opinion on the matter, but no date has been set. The breakthrough late on Thursday came after a high-level US delegation flew to Tegucigalpa for a last-ditch effort to end a crisis that created a foreign policy headache for Obama as he seeks better relations with the region.
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