Interim Honduran President Roberto Micheletti has told diplomats from across the hemisphere that he will not step aside so ousted President Manuel Zelaya can be reinstated.
Micheletti met Wednesday with a delegation of envoys from the Organization of American States hoping to resolve the country's three-month old political crisis. He criticized the diplomats for failing to understand the reasons Mr. Zelaya was forcibly removed from office, and for suspending aid to his impoverished nation.
The OAS team also met jointly with representatives of the interim Honduran government and of Mr. Zelaya, who remains holed up in the Brazilian embassy in the capital of Tegucigalpa.
Mr. Zelaya's group insists that presidential elections scheduled for November should be delayed if he is not reinstated by October 15.
Later Wednesday the OAS delegation is to meet with Mr. Zelaya at the Brazilian embassy.
Shortly before Wednesday's talks, riot police fired tear gas to disperse hundreds of Mr. Zelaya's supporters outside the embassy.
The OAS delegation is scheduled to leave the capital of Tegucigalpa Thursday.
Mr. Zelaya was forced from office June 28 and sent into exile for trying to hold a referendum on rewriting the constitution. His opponents say he was trying to illegally change the constitution to extend his term in office. The ousted president alienated business leaders after he allied himself with leftist Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez.
Some information for this report was provided by AFP, AP and Reuters.
