TEGUCIGALPA, Honduras -- Diplomats pushed the two sides of the Honduran political conflict into direct talks for the first time in nearly three months, but left the country Thursday with no commitment from the coup-installed government to reinstate ousted President Manuel Zelaya.

Members of the delegation sponsored by the Organization of American States characterized the result of their one-day visit as a positive step even though the rivals appeared as far apart as ever.

Costa Rican Foreign Minister Bruno Stagno said representatives of Zelaya and the government of interim leader Roberto Micheletti agreed to discuss the main international proposal for resolving the crisis. ``This is going to be an exclusively Honduran dialogue,'' Stagno told reporters as the delegation headed to the airport. ``This is a divided family and they have to reconcile.''

The depth of that division was clear as Stagno spoke: About 200 pro-Zelaya supporters massed boisterously at the front door of the hotel where the talks were held, calling for the ousted leader's return. Dozens of police, some in riot gear with tear gas at the ready, blocked them from entering and they left after about an hour.

Canada's minister of state for the Americas, Peter Kent, said Honduras cannot hold its scheduled Nov. 29 presidential election with international support if Zelaya isn't returned to office soon, even with limited powers in a coalition government as outlined in a mediator's settlement proposal. Still, he said the visit wasn't a failure.

``We had both sides speak to each other in a positive way,'' Kent told The Associated Press. ``This was really only the first step in a much longer process.''