LAS MANOS, Nicaragua (Reuters) – Ousted President  Manuel Zelaya took a few symbolic steps inside Honduras yesterday but then backed away from a confrontation with Honduran  security forces waiting to arrest him.

In a move described as “reckless” by U.S. Secretary of  State Hillary Clinton, the ousted leader in his trademark  cowboy hat briefly crossed into Honduras in this small town on  the border with Nicaragua.

Pausing to give live telephone interviews and surrounded by  a pack of journalists, he approached the chain dividing the two  central American nations, stepping over and held the chain over  his head in triumph for a moment.

He then touched a sign saying “Welcome to Honduras” but,  with troops and police standing just yards away, he said he did  not want to proceed further out of “respect for the principles”  of the military.

The leftist president was toppled and sent into exile in a  June 28 coup after angering critics over his alliance with  Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, a fierce critic of the United  States.

The de facto government that replaced him insists he was  removed legally and that he will face charges if he returns.    The U.S. government has condemend the coup and backed a  Costa Rican plan to end the crisis which calls for Zelaya’s  reinstatement, but it also advised him not to enter Honduras  without a political deal in place.

Clinton said Zelaya’s bid to return to his country was  “reckless” and urged all sides to reach a negotiated, peaceful  solution to the crisis.

“We have consistently urged all parties to avoid any  provocative action that could lead to violence. President  Zelaya’s effort to reach the border is reckless,” Clinton told  reporters. “It does not contribute to the broader effort to  restore democratic and constitutional order in the Honduras  crisis.”

Talks this week in Costa Rica about the standoff — Central  America’s worst political crisis in 20 years — appear to have  fallen apart, raising the threat of violence inside Honduras.

Ignoring calls not to provoke tension, Zelaya left the  Nicaraguan town of Esteli yesterday driving a jeep.

“We have to reverse this coup and I plan to do it  peacefully. With my presence in Honduras, the people will  surround me and the soldiers will lower their rifles,” Zelaya  said in Nicaragua before going to the border.