The US special envoy to the Northern Ireland peace process, Mr Mitchell Reiss, spoke for over an hour with the Sinn Féin leader, Mr Gerry Adams, on Wednesday evening, a Sinn Féin spokesperson said last night.
The contact comes in the wake of speculation about communication problems between Sinn Féin and Washington following the Northern Bank robbery which the British and Irish governments both say was the work of the IRA.
The IRA has denied it carried out the robbery. Sinn Féin negotiator Mr Gerry Kelly is also to meet a senior administration official, Mr Eric Greene, in Washington next Tuesday, the spokesperson said.
The meeting was said to have been arranged some days ago.
Mr Kelly, assembly member for North Belfast, is also expected to meet members of Congress and leading Irish American figures in New York and Washington.
The contact between Mr Reiss and Mr Adams follows the statement by the Taoiseach, Mr Ahern, earlier this week that he would resume contact with Sinn Féin leaders next week.
This new development came following a number of days when the Taoiseach did not take Mr Adams' telephone calls.