TEGUCIGALPA - INTERIM Honduran leader Roberto Micheletti said late on Thursday he was ready to return 'if necessary' to talks with ousted President Manuel Zelaya being brokered in Costa Rica.

Mr Micheletti was speaking upon his return to Honduras from San Jose, where he held meetings mediated by President Oscar Arias to resolve the crisis sparked by a military-backed coup last month, but left without speaking with Mr Zelaya.

'I am very happy, the work mission is moving forward,' Mr Micheletti told reporters in Tegucigalpa.

Mr Micheletti had previously said in the Costa Rican capital that he would return home 'totally satisfied,' after earlier insisting that he remained the 'constitutional president' of Honduras.

'The only theme we will not discuss is the return of Manuel Zelaya, unless he submits to the law,' he added.

'If necessary and if I am invited by President Arias, I will return with great pleasure' to San Jose.

Thursday's talks were the first mediated by Mr Arias on the crisis in Honduras, and had the backing of the United States.

It was also the first opportunity for a meeting between Mr Zelaya and Mr Micheletti since June 28, when the Honduran president was arrested by the military and forcibly deported by plane to Costa Rica.

The impoverished Central American country of seven million inhabitants has been roiled by protests since then.

The United States has suspended military ties with Tegucigalpa and is warning it could sever US$200 million (S$292 million) in aid. The World Bank and the Inter-American Development Bank have frozen credit lines. -- AFP