PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad -- Hinting that relations between the two countries could finally be warming, Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez said Saturday he may welcome back the U.S. ambassador who was kicked out of Caracas seven months ago.

But the Venezuelan leader topped off his warm handshake, kind words and uncharacteristically short speech during a group meeting with President Barack Obama with a back-handed gift: Uruguayan journalist Eduardo Galeano's 1971 book Open Veins of Latin America, about the history of U.S. meddling in the region.

Its subtitle: Five Centuries of the Pillage of a Continent.

The inching toward rapprochement occurred on the first full day of the Fifth Summit of the Americas. Thirty-four of the hemisphere's leaders are gathered here to discuss everything from Cuba to the global financial crisis and climate change.

Chávez met with Obama during a meeting of South American leaders and spoke only briefly. He had an impromptu meeting afterward with U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, where he suggested that he could take the first step toward ending a monthslong diplomatic tiff with Washington. After he threw out the U.S. ambassador, the United States expelled Venezuela's ambassador in Washington.

NEW AMBASSADOR

Chávez instructed Foreign Minister Nicolás Maduro to put forward the name of the country's current ambassador to the Organization of American States, Roy Chaderton, for the Washington post in a quest to restore full diplomatic relations, the Venezuelan news agency announced Saturday evening.

''Now we have to wait for the United States to give Chaderton the go-ahead to assume this important post so we can drive toward a new political and economic era,'' Chávez told reporters at the summit.

White House officials said late Saturday that they were unaware of Chávez's announcement.

A State Department spokesman confirmed that Chávez and Clinton talked about ending their ambassadorial spat, and added, ``we would welcome the return of ambassadors.''

But senior U.S. officials cautioned that an upgrade in the relationship -- such as a return of both countries' ambassadors -- would depend on a new tone from Chávez after the summit. U.S. officials say the ''bigger indications'' may be a move by Chávez to make it easier for U.S. diplomats to get visas to get into Venezuela, as well as a toning down of anti-American rhetoric.

''President Chávez has been trying to reach out to President Obama over the last day,'' said Deputy National Security Advisor Denis McDonough. ``But I know that President Obama recognizes that a smile and a handshake are not enough to indicate a new relationship. There will be bigger indications on whether Venezuela wants a new relationship.''

McDonough was referring to a widely circulated photograph taken by a Venezuelan presidential photographer, showing the two leaders sharing a casual raised handshake. The government quickly released the photo of Obama's hand warmly on Chávez's shoulder, characterizing the Friday night moment as ``historic.''

''I feel great optimism and the best of good will to advance,'' Chávez told reporters Saturday. ``We have started off on the right foot. It's time to have a true start of a new history.''

Last year's yanking of the ambassadors was the result of a diplomatic flap that started in Bolivia.

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