* Second meeting between U.S. and Cuban diplomats

* Follows Obama move to ease travel restrictions

* U.S. official says two sides still "very far apart"

(Adds Commerce Department testimony on Capitol Hill)

By Sue Pleming

WASHINGTON, April 27 (Reuters) - Tiptoeing toward a cautious detente with Havana, a senior U.S. diplomat on Monday held his second round of meetings this month with Cuba's representative in Washington, the State Department said.

Assistant Secretary of State for Western Hemisphere Affairs Thomas Shannon met with the head of Cuba's Interest Section in the U.S. capital, Jorge Bolanos, a follow-on from a meeting they had in Washington on April 13.

"These meetings happen periodically," said State Department spokesman Robert Wood, who cautioned reporters over reading too much into the latest encounter.

"I'm not trying to make more or less of it," added Wood when pressed whether this indicated a further warming of ties between the two countries.