Ousted Honduran President Manuel Zelaya said in Washington on Wednesday that he would postpone his plan to return home after the Organization of American States (OAS) gave the country an ultimatum to restore him to power.

The ousted President of Honduras Manuel Zelaya speaks during a press conference at the UN headquarters in New York, the United States, June 30, 2009. Manuel Zelaya expressed his gratitude toward the international community and tearfully described the last moments in his home country before being thrown onto a plane and whisked away. [Xinhua]

"We will wait 72 hours in order to continue with this process," Zelaya said in an interview with the CNN after the OAS gave Honduras 72 hours to restore Zelaya's presidency or would face suspension from the organization. Zelaya said on Tuesday that he would return to Honduras on Thursday.

Honduran Attorney-General Luis Alberto Rubi said Zelaya would be arrested "as soon as he sets foot on Honduran soil" and he could face 20 years in prison.

Hundreds of soldiers stormed the presidential residence in Honduras' capital Tegucigalpa on Sunday. Zelaya was put on a plane and sent into exile in Costa Rica.

Honduras' congress named speaker Roberto Micheletti as the interim president. He has imposed a curfew.

(Xinhua News Agency July 2, 2009)