Caracas/Washington - Talks mediated by Costa Rica aimed at finding a solution to the political crisis in Honduras failed to reach a conclusion, Costa Rican President Oscar Arias said Friday. Arias, a Nobel Peace Prize winner who has taken on the role of mediator, met with ousted Honduran President Manuel Zelaya and Roberto Micheletti, leader of the newly installed government, in separate meetings at his home on Thursday. Zelaya and Micheletti later named delegations to continue the talks with Arias, but there has been no sign of a breakthrough.
Talks would resume in the coming days, Arias said.
Earlier Friday, Costa Rica's effort was declared "dead" by Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, but the United States and European Union said the negotiations should be given more time.
"I think that this is dead," Chavez, a strong ally of Zelaya, told reporters in Caracas of Arias' efforts. He said it was "horrible" that Arias had even agreed to meet with Micheletti.
US State Department spokesman Philip Crowley rejected Chavez's remarks, calling the Arias effort the "best route to try to resolve this peacefully."
"Obviously that statement is premature," Kelly said of Chavez.
Benita Ferrero-Waldner, the EU's external affairs commissioner, said the Arias talks would take time to yield results.
"In a mediation you never get I would say the best result immediately," she said after a meeting in Washington with US Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton. "I'm still confident that this is the only approach that can bring a solution at this time."
Zelaya was ousted last month in a military coup, after weeks of wrangling over his efforts to change the constitution in order to run for another term in office.
Micheletti was named president, but the coup has been widely condemned and the new government not recognized by any foreign country.
