Ousted¹ Honduran President Manuel Zelaya and interim² leader Roberto Micheletti have begun mediated³ talks on the political crisis in Honduras.

被流放的洪都拉斯总统Manuel Zelaya和过渡领导Roberto Micheletti已经在洪都拉斯就政治危机问题进行间接谈话。

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Mr Zelaya is hoping the mediation will see him return to office

As he left, Mr Zelaya said that he, as the democratically-elected Honduran president, should be restored to power.

Mr Micheletti insists Mr Zelaya should give up claims to the presidency⁷.

He said he did not go to Costa Rica to negotiate, simply to talk.

Mr Zelaya had earlier described Mr Micheletti as a "criminal".

Huge challenge

Before his meetings, President Arias said that once two sides started talking, "positions begin to soften⁸".

But Mr Arias, who won the 1987 Nobel Peace Prize for helping⁹ bring an end to Central America's civil wars, said he recognised the size of the current task in Honduras.

"In two days there could be a solution, or it could be that in two months there is no solution," he said.

The talks are scheduled to continue on Friday, but it is not yet clear if the two Honduran protagonists¹⁰（主演，主角） will meet in person or not.

Correspondents say simply getting the rivals to appear in the same city is some kind of achievement.

Both sides made statements ahead of the talks showing little willingness to negotiate.

The interim government says it intends to ensure Mr Zelaya returns to Honduras to face trial for abusing the constitution.

But as he arrived in San Jose, Mr Zelaya told reporters he expected the leaders of the coup¹¹（砰然的一击，妙计） to leave power in 24 hours.

Mr Micheletti said: "We're not going to negotiate, we're going to talk. We'll work tirelessly to seek a solution within the framework of the constitution."

One possible solution is for Mr Zelaya to assume a head of state role without political power, correspondents say.

But they say the interim government would not agree to that, as it argues Mr Zelaya is guilty of violating the constitution.

Mr Zelaya was ousted and forced out of Honduras at gunpoint on 28 June. An attempt to fly back to Honduras failed last weekend when the authorities there blocked the runway at Tegucigalpa airport.

The political crisis erupted after Mr Zelaya attempted to hold a non-binding public consultation¹² to ask people whether they supported moves to change the constitution.

Opponents said that could have led to the removal of the current one-term limit on serving as president and so pave the way for Mr Zelaya's possible re-election.

In Honduras itself, thousands of supporters and opponents of Mr Zelaya held rival demonstrations¹³ on Thursday.

Supporters of Mr Zelaya cut off several main highways, while Mr Micheletti's backers took to the streets of San Pedro Sula and other towns.