Costa Rica's
Arias Calls For Second Round Of
Honduras Talks
Costa Rica's
president, Oscar Arias, is not ready to give
on Honduras and feels confident that a
solution to the current political crisis can
be found, and as such has called on both
sides for a second round of talks.
The Arias plan to bring the two Honduran
leaders together, in a face to face meeting,
failed last Thursday when both, Manuel
Zelaya and Roberto Micheletti, each met with
Arias.
Both said they would attend the meeting, but
were not coming to negotiate. Micheletti
refused to accept a face to face meeting and
left Costa Rica immediately after the
meeting at the Arias private home.
Both leaders left behind a team that began
meeting Thursday night and continued all day
Friday, when late in the day the talks broke
off, with no solution found.
Oscar Arias said that no solution to the
crisis was reached, the groundwork had been
laid, discussing issues important to both
parties.
Both parties to the talks described the
dialogue as a valuable first step, although
they did not set an agenda, let alone reach
any agreement. Arias has told media that
neither side has considered leaving the
talks.
Meanwhile, the foreign minister of Zelaya's
deposed government, Patricia Rodas, on
Sunday said that the ousted government was
interested in continuing the process.
She said: "It's a chance for each side to
see what the other side is thinking."
However, she added: "It's not a dialogue
between two equal parties, but an exchange
of information between a criminal on one
hand, and a totally legitimate government on
the other hand."
Venezuela's President Hugo Chavez has
criticized Arias for failing to arrest
Micheletti for his role in the military coup
against Zelaya.
|
