TEGUCICALPA - NICARAGUA has denied the use of its airspace to interim Honduras leader Roberto Micheletti, who plans to travel to Costa Rica on Thursday for dialogue with deposed President Manuel Zelaya, Honduran aviation authorities said.

The Honduran Air Force had requested permission from Nicaragua to allow Mr Micheletti to fly through its airspace, but was denied, Honduran civil aviation director Alfredo San Martin told reporters.

The move will not stop the interim leader, who took over from Mr Zelaya after a military coup late last month, from attending the key San Jose talks 'to restore peace and maintain democracy in Honduras,' San Martin said.

Mr Micheletti has not officially confirmed he would attend the talks, however - even though he expressed support for the notion earlier this week - after his political allies raised concerns that he could face 'arrest' abroad.

Members of the Organization of American States (OAS), including the United States, have thrown their support behind the dialogue, hoping talks could offer a way out of the crisis that erupted with Mr Zelaya's overthrow on June 28.

The two days of talks between Mr Zelaya and Mr Micheletti, who have both insisted that they will not 'negotiate' with the other, are being hosted by Costa Rican President Oscar Arias, a Nobel Peace Prize winner, at his home in San Jose. -- AFP