Contentious relations between the U.S. and Venezuela in recent years that have seen that country’s leftist leaders accuse the United States of engineering coup attempts and domestic unrest appear to be quietly giving way to renewed efforts at diplomacy.

In the past several months, State Department Counselor Tom Shannon has traveled to Caracas on two publicized trips to meet with President Nicolas Maduro. Shannon also met in Haiti last month with the president of the Venezuelan National Assembly, Diosdado Cabello. Cabello, who is being investigated by U.S. prosecutors in connection with global drug trafficking, said the meeting was “aimed at normalizing diplomatic relations with respect to international law, sovereignty and self-determination of people.”

It’s not clear what prompted the latest round of diplomacy between the countries, which in recent years have expelled each other’s diplomats amid volatile relations prompted largely by virulent anti-American sentiment in the socialist government under former Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez. But in the midst of a protracted economic emergency that eclipses even the Greek financial crisis and the U.S. normalizing relations with its closest ally, Cuba, Caracas could be motivated to restore ties with America.

The U.S. and Venezuela retain formal diplomatic relations but have not had ambassadors in one another’s countries since 2010, when Chavez expelled the U.S. ambassador to Caracas. The State Department says bilateral relations have “been tense in recent years due to a variety of policy differences” but that the U.S. thinks “both countries would be better served by establishing a functional and productive relationship focusing on areas of mutual interest.” The tension was amplified in March when the Obama administration sanctioned seven Venezuelan officials for human rights violations.

State Department rhetoric on the potential progress has been measured, with spokesman John Kirby on Monday cautioning against expecting progress too quickly.

“This is a country which we are beginning to have a dialogue with,” he said.

Despite having the world’s largest oil reserves, the country’s economy is in shambles. Inflation is the highest in the world, basic goods are unavailable, and the rates of murder and kidnapping have soared. Already struggling from years of fiscally irresponsible government spending under Chavez, the economy deteriorated when oil prices dropped by half last year. Oil exports are 95 percent of the Venezuelan foreign exchange, and the sudden devaluation of its principal resource has put Venezuela in position to default on a staggering foreign debt and pushed it to the brink of failed-state status.

As public sentiment has turned squarely against him, Maduro’s regime has turned increasingly authoritarian.

When asked if the new diplomatic effort was prompted by concerns for Venezuelan stability, Kirby said only that the U.S. sees value in cooperation with Venezuela despite the tensions.

“[W]e’re certainly, as a general rule, concerned about stability and security all over the world, not least of which is in the Western Hemisphere itself,” Kirby said. “[W]e recognize that Venezuela is a country where there can be common purpose on some issues, like drug trafficking, and we want to try to explore those opportunities.”

The countries so far are reportedly limiting their discussions to such areas of mutual interest, like relief efforts in Haiti and peace negotiations between the government and rebel groups in Colombia while looking past tense subjects like Venezuela’s treatment of political dissidents. Venezuelan Foreign Minister Delcy Rodriguez said prisoner releases are not a part of the ongoing talks, but the U.S. government says it routinely raises the issue in the conversations.

In response to major protests in February 2014, Maduro jailed opposition leaders, including former Chacao Mayor Leopoldo Lopez. More than 70 remain jailed as a result of those demonstrations, and most have not even been accused of a crime, let alone begun trial proceedings.

Lopez, who has become the internationally recognized public face of those detained, recently ended a hunger strike after the Venezuelan government finally set the date for congressional elections, which will take place Dec. 6 and will likely provide a setback to Maduro’s leadership.

Lillian Tintori, Lopez’s wife, is leading an international campaign for his release, appealing to U.S., European and regional officials for intervention in her husband’s case. Lopez’s trial resumed last week but it is unknown when it will conclude.

Sending a subtle message to Caracas, the State Department honored two Venezuelan human rights lawyers in Washington on Thursday for their pro bono work defending political dissidents that have been jailed, a public signal of U.S. opposition to Maduro’s human rights abuses. Gonzalo Himiob and Alfredo Romero support the opening of diplomacy, which they say could make an easier environment for them to work. They are routinely harassed, threatened and monitored by the Venezuelan government, they say.

“We believe the government should open channels or bridges with the United States more than attacking the United States, and I think the government is looking for that,” Romero says. “Our government is looking for having good relations with the United States and this is something that I think is positive.”

Himiob says that, after Shannon’s meeting with Cabello in Haiti last month, two political prisoners were released and one was moved from jail to house arrest. The date for elections was also set after the meeting. Romero says that defense of human rights should be internationally supported but that Venezuela’s political problems need to be managed by the country itself.

“When you talk about human rights, it’s something universal. Everyone should be involved,” Romero says. “In that way, I think that any help from any country, it’s welcome. However, our political situation should be managed internally.”

Despite the tepid optimism over the diplomatic inroads, Maduro has not indicated his government will change its behavior, and Kirby cautioned from reading too much into the meetings.

“[T]hese talks are at their beginnings and I don’t want to overstate them either,” Kirby said. “It’s trending in a good direction and we’re going to see if we can’t keep the momentum going.”

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Are the US and Venezuela Quietly Making Diplomatic Progress? originally appeared on usnews.com