HAVANA - (AP) -- Cuba-U.S. relations have reached a crucial point, with both great possibilities for
                       improvement as well as risks, a senior government official told visiting Americans on Monday.

                       ''I would say we were in a defining moment, with risks and challenges on one side ... and at the same
                       time showing great possibilities, possibilities for important steps,'' Ricardo Alarcon, president of the
                       National Assembly, told about 100 Americans here for a conference on Cuba-U.S. sister cities.

                       ''I do not remember any other period in history that we have received so many Americans,'' Alarcon
                       said, referring to the several thousand American citizens who have visited Cuba with U.S. government
                       approval during the first weeks of this year.

                       The flood of American lawmakers, business people and others now visiting Cuba has coincided with
                       the first direct sales of U.S. food to Cuba in nearly four decades.

                       Although the food sales and the visits are unrelated, they have given hope to Cuban officials and
                       Americans who oppose long-standing restrictions on U.S. travel to and trade with Cuba.

                       Nevertheless, the administration of President Bush has insisted that there will be no changes in
                       American policy toward the island until Cuba embraces democracy and human rights.

                       The U.S. government has maintained a trade embargo against the island and there have been no
                       diplomatic relations between the two countries for four decades. American regulations effectively bar
                       most U.S. citizens from traveling to the island without special approval.