Honduras rivals to discuss Zelaya return post-coup

The standoff is Central America's worst crisis in years and has become a test for U.S. President Barack Obama after he promised better relations with Latin America.

Envoys for the leftist Zelaya, who was toppled in a June 28 military coup, and for the de facto government led by Roberto Micheletti are expected to tackle the central issue of Zelaya's future over the next three days.

They made some headway on other less controversial issues in talks last week. But Zelaya, who crept back into the country in late September and has been holed up in the Brazilian embassy since then, says Micheletti has no intention of allowing his return to the presidency.

"We are not optimistic about the result of the dialogue," Rasel Tome, a former Zelaya government official who is with him in the embassy, told Reuters on Monday.

One of Zelaya's negotiators abandoned the talks on Tuesday and was replaced by another aide of the ousted president.

A group of protesters calling for Zelaya's return to power gathered outside the hotel in the capital where talks were being held. They were watched by police and soldiers armed with automatic weapons and clubs.

Many countries, including the United States, have threatened not to recognise elections for a new president on November 29 if Micheletti does not first allow Zelaya's return.

Obama has frozen some economic aid to the country, although some Latin American governments have said he needs to do more to force Micheletti to back down.

Juan Ramon Martinez, a Honduran political analyst, says Micheletti is playing for time and has no intention of giving in. "The negotiation is not to reach agreements, it's just to calm international opinion."

Zelaya's supporters plan a series of protests this week. They are threatening to disrupt the election campaign and block voting centres if their leader is not reinstated in the next few days.

"If Zelaya is not brought back the future looks uncertain for the elections," said Juan Barahona, a union leader who represents Zelaya's left wing supporters and activists and who left the negotiating team on Tuesday.

But with tough measures in place to suppress protests, Zelaya's supporters will struggle to mobilise large numbers of people against the elections.

Micheletti's government is accused of human rights abuses by Amnesty International and has broken promises to quickly lift curbs on protests and on media loyal to Zelaya.

Some U.S. Republicans have criticized Obama for sticking up for Zelaya, a close ally of Venezuela's socialist President Hugo Chavez. They want the United States to recognise the November elections.

Jose Miguel Insulza, who heads the Organisation of American States, said he was hopeful for progress in the next few days.

"Ideas are circulating about different time frames for the return of the president," he told CNN's Spanish language channel on Monday night.

(Reporting by Magdalena Morales and Luis Rojas; Editing by Kieran Murray)