Clinton expected to meet Zelaya in Washington on Tuesday

Source: Reuters

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is expected to meet ousted Honduran President Manuel Zelaya in Washington on Tuesday, a U.S. official who spoke on condition of anonymity said on Monday.

The official provided no other details.

Such a meeting would be significant gesture of support for Zelaya, who was pushed out of office by troops and flown into exile in Costa Rica on June 28 in a coup largely triggered by a dispute over presidential term limits.

Separately, U.S. State Department spokesman Ian Kelly reiterated the U.S. call for Zelaya to be restored to power.

"Our goal remains the restoration of … the democratic order in Honduras, and we renew our call on all political and social actors in Honduras to find a peaceful solution to this crisis," he told reporters.

Asked what restoring the democratic order meant, Kelly replied: "it means the return of the democratically elected president to Tegucigalpa, the return of Mel Zelaya."