国际英语新闻：U.S., Cuban diplomats hold meeting

WASHINGTON, April 27 (Xinhua) -- U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Tom Shannon met with Cuba's representative in Washington Jorge Bolanos on Monday afternoon, in an effort to seek the so-called new beginning for Washington-Havana relations.

    U.S. State Department has confirmed the meeting, the first after President Barack Obama called for a new beginning between the United States and Cuba at the Fifth Summit of the Americas, held in mid April in Trinidad and Tobago.

    "And this afternoon, Assistant Secretary Tom Shannon is going to meet with the head of the Cuba interests section for a meeting at a mutually convenient location," spokesman Robert Wood told reporters at the daily press briefing.

    But the spokesman tuned down the meeting's significance, saying the Obama administration has actually had "periodic contact" with representatives of the Cuban Interests Section in Washington. The previous one was held on April 13.

    No details on the Shannon-Bolanos meetings have been revealed yet.

    The United States and Cuba have not had formal diplomatic relations since 1961, following the 1959 Cuban Revolution, but they opened interests sections in each other's capitals in 1977 to deal with consular affairs.

    At the Americas summit, President Obama told his Latin American counterparts that the United States has been prepared to engage in a dialogue with Havana that includes human rights, democratic reform and economic issues.

    "The United States seeks a new beginning with Cuba. I know there is a longer journey that must be traveled to overcome decades of mistrust. But there are critical steps we can take toward a new day," said the president.

    Ahead of his departure for the summit, Obama announced easing restrictions for Cuban-Americans on travel and remittance back to Cuba.

    The Washington Post-ABC News poll showed on Monday that most Americans approve of Obama's initial forays into revising the country's Cuba policy, and many advocate pushing further, to diplomatic relations and an end to the trade embargo and travel ban.