Acting Honduran President Roberto Micheletti said he will allow Congress to decide on whether ousted leader Manuel Zelaya can return to power, in a move that may end the country's four-month political crisis.
"My government has decided to support a proposal that allows a vote in Congress," Mr Micheletti said in a statement late yesterday, adding it was a "significant concession" on his part.
Mr Zelaya, who was ousted at gunpoint by soldiers in late June, supports the agreement, Juan Barahona, a protest leader and former negotiator for the ousted leader, said in a telephone interview.
Talks to end the country's crisis had stalled on which state power has the final say on whether Mr Zelaya should be restored to serve the remainder of his term, which ends in January.
Mr Zelaya had earlier rejected a proposal by the acting government that would give the Supreme Court ultimate jurisdiction over his return and wanted legislators to resolve the matter.
US secretary of state Hillary Clinton welcomed the "historic" agreement and praised both sides for seeking to resolve the political crisis peacefully.
"I cannot think of another example of a country in Latin America that having suffered a rupture of its democratic and constitutional order overcame such a crisis through negotiation and dialogue," Ms Clinton, who is on a three-day visit to Pakistan, told reporters.
US officials headed by the state department's top Latin America diplomat, Thomas Shannon, visited Honduras this week to jump-start the deadlocked talks.
Under the new accord, Congress would have the final say on Mr Zelaya's restitution, though not before considering the opinion of the Supreme Court, Mr Micheletti said in the statement.
The military took Mr Zelaya out of the country on June 28th after he ignored court orders to stop pursuing a referendum that would ask Hondurans if they wanted an assembly to rewrite the constitution.
Opponents said Mr Zelaya sought to change rules to allow himself to run for another term as president.
Leaders across the Western Hemisphere, including President Barack Obama and Hugo Chavez of Venezuela, support Mr Zelaya's return to power.
The ousted leader returned from exile more than a month ago and took refuge in the Brazilian embassy in Tegucigalpa.
The court earlier this year ruled Mr Zelaya's push for constitutional change was illegal and ordered his arrest.
Congress has passed resolutions pledging to support an agreement that comes from talks.
Bloomberg