ESTORIL, Portugal, Nov. 30 (Xinhua) -- The Ibero-American Secretary-General Enrique Iglesias said on Monday afternoon that there are divergences about the political crisis in Honduras among the representatives who participate in the 19th Ibero-American Summit, which takes place in Estoril, Portugal, but that a solution is expected for Tuesday.

    Iglesias recognized the relevance of the Honduran matter, though it was not on the agenda of the meeting, which gathered representatives from 22 Ibero-American countries, and said that "everybody agrees that the occurrences in Honduras represent a regress from a democratic path."

    He also explained that some of the representatives consider the Honduran election, which took place on Sunday, to be illegitimate, while others consider it legitimate.

    "The important is that there are divergent positions on this subject, but a solution will be found to use in a positive manner the result of the elections," he said.

    All the Ibero-American countries (Latin America, Portugal, Spain and Andorra) condemned the coup which took Manuel Zelaya from the Honduran presidency, and demanded his return to his position. However, in the past week, Peru, Costa Rica and Panama, following the United States, announced that they would recognize the results of Sunday's elections, creating a rift in the region.

    Iglesias expressed his confidence that a commission presided over by Portugal will be able to reach a resolution on the Honduran political crisis by Tuesday. According to him, there were natural divergences at the summit, but the general atmosphere of the event was very cordial.

    He added that, besides the Honduran matter, the representatives gathered in the summit also discussed themes such as the international financial crisis and the upcoming United Nations Climate Change Conference. Iglesias also praised the initiative of the Amazon Summit, which took place last week in Brazil.

Portugal works as mediator on Honduras' situation in Ibero-American Summit

Delegates taking part in the XIX Ibero-American Summit have a family picture taken in Estoril, Portugal, on Nov. 30, 2009. Heads of state and government leaders of Portugal, Spain, Andorra and 19 South American countries gathered in Estoril, outskirts of Lisbon, for the XIX Ibero-American Summit from Nov. 29 to Dec. 1. (Xinhua/Zeng Yi) Photo Gallery>>>

    LISBON, Nov. 30 (Xinhua) -- Portugal's Exterior Minister Luis Amado said on Monday that Portugal is working as a mediator among the Ibero-American countries to achieve a consensus that allows the approval of a joint declaration of the 19th Ibero-American Summit countries on the political situation in Honduras.

    "The goal of the Portuguese presidency is to find a common ground about the political situation of Honduras, not only in relation to the recent elections occurred in the country," Minister Amado told the press. Full story

Ibero-American summit opens in Portugal

    LISBON, Nov. 29 (Xinhua) -- The annual Ibero-American summit opened here Sunday with a focus on ways to encourage the development of science and technology to better tackle the financial crisis and climate change.

    At the opening ceremony in Lisbon, Portuguese Prime Minister Jose Socrates called for economic and social modernization to ensure a quick recovery and steady growth of the world economy. Full story

Chavez describes Honduras voting as a farce

CARACAS, Nov. 29 (Xinhua) -- Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez vowed on Sunday that his government would not recognize the results of the presidential election in Honduras, calling the voting a farce.

"We will not recognize any result of the election. For us, the only Honduras' president is still Manuel Zelaya," Chavez reiterated his position during the weekly broadcast "Hello, Mr President." Full story

Brazil not to recognize outcome of Honduras election: Lula

ESTORIL, Portugal, Nov. 29 (Xinhua) -- Brazilian President LuizInacio Lula da Silva said here Sunday that Brazil would not "reconsider" its stance on Honduras' general elections and would not recognize the results.

Lula made the comments after arriving in Estoril, a Portuguese seaside resort, for the annual Ibero-American summit. Full story