'We made a counter proposal ... under which the constitutional president, Roberto Micheletti, agreed to step down in exchange for Zelaya returning to face trial for his crimes,' said Lopez, who is also Foreign Minister for Micheletti.

Lopez also insisted that the events of June 28 did not constitute a coup, saying that the Supreme Court had ordered Zelaya's arrest for violating the constitution, which Lopez called 'a crime in any civilized nation'.

Moncada responded that Zelaya's officials had been exiled against their will, but remained open to talking via Arias, who she said enjoyed the recognition of the United Nations, the international community and the Organization of American States.

'The dialogue with this regime that was the product of a military coup is over due to intransigence,' she said.

Speaking at the same press conference, Arias asked both sides to return within three days in a bid to avoid civil conflict in Honduras.

'Many of Honduras' people have arms. What happens if one of them shoots a soldier or soldier should shoot armed citizen?' Arias asked, adding that civil war was one of the possibilities.