It’s always hard to know what to make of these anonymously sourced statements, but as often as not they are a way to float policy without making a large commitment.  As such it’s promising.  The administration wants to keep the initiative going with Cuba.   This seems positive.

The officials said informal meetings were being planned between the State Department and Cuban diplomats in the United States to determine whether the two governments could open formal talks on a variety of issues, including migration, drug trafficking and other regional security matters.

And the administration is also looking for ways to open channels for more cultural and academic exchanges between Cuba and the United States, the officials said. [emphasis added]

The next steps, said a senior administration official, would be meant to “test the waters,” to see whether the United States and Cuba could develop a “serious, civil, open relationship.”