Honduran interim leader Roberto Micheletti says he is ready to sign a deal that could reinstate ousted President Manuel Zelaya and end the country's political crisis.
Mr. Micheletti said late Thursday he has authorized his negotiating team to sign an agreement that "marks the beginning of the end" of the four-month political standoff. Congress must approve the deal.
Mr. Zelaya said he is "optimistic" that the agreement will return him to power.
Speaking in Islamabad, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton hailed the agreement as "historic."
The apparent breakthrough followed pressure from senior U.S. officials who are in Honduras. Earlier Thursday, the U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for Western Hemisphere Affairs, Thomas Shannon, said the rival sides had to reach an accord to ensure international support for the upcoming presidential elections in November.
Mr. Zelaya was expelled from Honduras in a June 28 coup, with opponents accusing him of trying to illegally change the constitution to extend his term in office.
The ousted leader secretly returned to the country in mid-September and took refuge at the Brazilian mission.
The Micheletti government has filed a formal complaint against Brazil with the International Court of Justice in The Hague for sheltering Mr. Zelaya.
The Obama administration had preferred to let the Organization of American States and its designated mediator, Costa Rican President Oscar Arias, take the lead role in Honduran diplomacy.
But, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton decided to increase U.S. efforts to resolve the crisis and send the delegation to Honduras after Mr. Zelaya said last week the process had broken down.
Some information for this report was provided by AFP, AP and Reuters.
