The military junta that seized power in the tiny West African island state of Sao Tome last week - while the president was abroad - has accepted the idea of his return, an envoy said after holdings talks with the junta leaders.

　　"Since the first hour of the talks, the junta has agreed with the return of the president," Angolan Interior Minister Oswaldo van Dunen told reporters on Monday. "One of the issues that we have to discuss are the conditions for his return."

　　Sao Tome and Principe's President Fradique de Menezes was visiting Nigeria when the coup took place on Wednesday of last week in the oil-rich but otherwise poor island country off West Africa.

　　Van Dunen didn't provide details on the conditions of the president's return.

　　Mozambican President Joaquim Chissano said Menezes could be home within a day.

　　"We have strong indications that the constitutionalsgroupswill be restored and this will be a successful effort in combination with various partners," said Chissano, who heads of the 53-nation African Union and was speaking in Mozambique.

　　Envoys started talks on Sunday with the military junta, headed by artillery Major Fernando Pereira.

　　Participating in the talks were the renegade troops and delegations from regional power Nigeria, the Community of Portuguese-Speaking Countries, and the Economic Community of Central African States.

　　The Portuguese news agency Lusa said a US representative was also part of the talks in a UN building. Sao Tome and Principe lies in a region of growing impor-tance to the United States and other countries as a source of oil.

　　On Sunday night, the junta freed seven Cabinet ministers held since the day of the coup, but they are under house arrest.

　　Prime Minister Maria das Neves, the first woman to hold that post in the country, has been in a hospital since the day of the coup, under military surveillance. She collapsed following her arrest by soldiers and was under observation because of concerns about high blood pressure.

　　The United States, the United Nations, the Community of Portuguese-speaking Countries and the 53-nation African Union have all demanded the restoration of constitutional order.