Senior U.S. diplomat sees Cuban official

By Sue Pleming

WASHINGTON (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.

Cuba and the United States do not have formal diplomatic relations but both countries have outposts, or interest sections, in their capitals.

A spokesman at Cuba's office in Washington said he had "no comment" on Monday's meeting between the two diplomats.

In an about-face from the Bush administration, U.S. President Barack Obama has said he wants to "recast" relations with the communist government in Cuba.

Obama this month lifted restrictions on Cuban Americans, allowing them to travel freely to Cuba and send money to relatives there.