Honduran rivals clinch deal to end crisis

By Sean Mattson

TEGUCIGALPA (Reuters) - 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 U.S. 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 U.S. 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.

A Congress vote is expected in the next few days, after the Supreme Court gives a non-binding opinion on the matter.

"We've taken a first step," Zelaya said on Friday as negotiators put final signatures to the agreement, which will 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.

The breakthrough late on Thursday came after a high-level U.S. 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.

"Both sides in regard to the issue of restitution, have committed this decision to Congress," U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for Western Hemisphere Affairs Tom Shannon said.