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Brazil, U.S. agree Honduras should give Zelaya travel permitBRASILIA, Dec 14, 2009 (Xinhua via COMTEX) -- Brazil and the United States agreed on Monday that the Honduras government should deliver a pass to deposed President Manuel Zelaya, currently sheltered at the Brazilian embassy in Tegucigalpa, for him to leave the country freely. This was announced by the Special Adviser for International Affairs of the Brazilian Presidency, Marco Aurelio Garcia, after a nearly-two-hour meeting with Arturo Valenzuela, the Assistant Secretary of State for Western Hemisphere Affairs who is responsible for Latin America diplomacy in the U.S. government. Moreover, Garcia said that both countries share the opinion on the need for an agreement in the Central American country so that interim President Roberto Micheletti leaves the post. "The secretary said to be favorable about the pass (to Zelaya) and we need to unblock the situation. We express our concern that the episode of Honduras does not come to establish a precedent that could destabilize the democracy in the region, particularly in Central America, where the democratic process is more recent," he said. The pass to Zelaya, who was ousted by a political-military coup on June 28 and has been housed in the Brazilian embassy since Sept. 21, was denied by the de facto Honduran government in the absence of clarity about what kind of shelter he would receive in Mexico. Brazil and the United States share the view that the election held on Nov. 29 in Honduras does not solve the country's political problems, the Brazilian official said, but the countries differ on the effects it will have on the democratic continuity. "Obviously, we have a slight divergence on the effects of the election, but we agree on something, that the election in Honduras is not enough for democratic normalization. The United States believes, however, that the election may create a favorable situation," he said. Garcia also said he spoke with Valenzuela on the controversial military agreement with Colombia that allows U.S. troops to use military bases in that country. "We transmit the Brazilian government's position, that (the bases) are not a positive factor for the region. The U.S. government needs to have a more direct dialogue with the countries of the region to eliminate the 'information war,'" he said. On the Iran nuclear issue, which was also discussed in the meeting, Garcia said his country agreed with the United States on the need for Iran to submit to the rules of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), thus guaranteeing the peaceful use of the Iranian nuclear program. Last month, Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva greeted in Brasilia his Iranian counterpart Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and defended Iran's right to develop a nuclear program with peaceful purposes, which sparked much criticism from the U.S. Congress. On the statements by U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, who issued a warning to Latin American countries that are close to Tehran, the advisor of Lula da Silva said "it is normal that governments have different views." Garcia summarized the spirit of the meeting with Valenzuela by noting that Brazil-U.S. relations were already good with former U. S. President George W. Bush and have undergone an "upgrade" with incumbent President Barack Obama. |