A senior American diplomat has held high-level talks with the Cuban government in Havana, state department officials are reported to have said.
The talks between the two nations were the first of their kind in years, the Associated Press news agency reports.
State department official Bisa Williams held the unannounced talks with Cuba's deputy foreign minister during a visit to Cuba earlier this month, AP says.
A US trade embargo on Cuba remains, but there are signs relations are easing.
Earlier this month, Ms Williams, the deputy assistant secretary of state for Western Hemisphere affairs, was part of a US delegation who went to Havana to discuss the possible resumption of direct postal services between the two nations.
Direct services were suspended in 1963 and currently post must go through third countries, meaning it can take several weeks to arrive.
State department spokesman Ian Kelly confirmed to AP that Ms Williams had stayed on in Cuba after the postal service discussions but gave few details of what had been discussed. read more
