Nancy Pelosi, the top Democrat in the House of Representatives, met in Havana on Wednesday with Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez to discuss the normalization of relations between the two countries.

Pelosi arrived in the country Tuesday with eight other Democratic members of Congress.

A statement in the official Cuban news site Cubadebate said Pelosi and Rodriguez discussed recent U.S.-Cuban talks on restoring diplomatic relations.

A second round of talks will be held Feb. 27 in Washington, the State Department said Tuesday.

While in Cuba, Pelosi will also meet with Roman Catholic Cardinal Jaime Ortega and community leaders.

The move to restore ties that were severed decades ago began Dec. 17 with a surprise announcement by President Barack Obama and Cuba's Raul Castro.

Washington has since taken steps to ease certain restrictions on trade and travel, while Cuba freed 53 prisoners whose release was sought by the United States.

But Castro has cautioned that relations between the two Cold War-era foes will not return to normal until the U.S. lifts an embargo imposed in 1962.

That will require action by Congress, which is dominated by Republicans, some of whom are critical of the rapprochement with the Cold War-era foe.