Tom Watson (West Bromwich East, Labour)

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what his latest assessment is of the political situation in Honduras; and if he will make a statement.

Chris Bryant (Parliamentary Under-Secretary, Foreign and Commonwealth Office; Rhondda, Labour)

The UK condemned the removal of the democratically elected President of Honduras, Manuel Zelaya, in June. Since then, along with our EU partners, we have been actively supporting the regionally-led negotiation process to resolve the crisis, notably mediation efforts led by President Arias of Costa Rica and the Organisation of American States.

We are pleased that recent developments in the process signal a willingness by representatives of President Zelaya and the de facto government to come to a resolution ahead of the presidential elections later this month. We welcome, in particular, the signing of an accord on 30 October 2009 that could lead to the establishment of a power sharing government, and a return to democratic, constitutional order in the country. We understand that this agreement still needs to be considered by the Supreme Court and Congress in Tegucigalpa.