TEGUCIGALPA, Honduras - Showing new flexibility, Honduras' interim government on Tuesday backed the appointment of a high- profile mediator for negotiations and softened its stance on prosecuting a president ousted by a coup.

Roberto Micheletti, who took over after the June 28 coup that toppled President Manuel Zelaya and has resisted international pressure to reinstate him, applauded the announcement that Costa Rican President Oscar Arias has agreed to mediate efforts to end the standoff.