TEGUCIGALPA: The interim leader of Honduras says he is ready to sign a pact to end its crisis which could include the return of ousted President Manuel Zelaya.

Roberto Micheletti said the agreement would create a power-sharing government and require both sides to recognise the result of November’s presidential poll.

Zelaya said the deal, which requires the approval of the Supreme Court and Congress, would be signed on Friday. The president was forced out of the country on June 28. His critics said he was seeking to amend the constitution to remove the current one-term limit on serving as president, and pave the way for his re-election. Zelaya returned covertly to Tegucigalpa on September 21 and has since been holed up in the Brazilian embassy. He says he has returned “for the restoration of democracy”. His term of office is due to finish at the end of January.

Negotiators for Zelaya and Micheletti resumed talks in the capital yesterday in an attempt to resolve the political crisis which has gripped Honduras since the army-backed coup four months ago. The opponents had earlier been told by the US that they had to reach an accord in order to ensure international support for the election on November 29.