The Scottish Government has welcomed an indication by the US that it was prepared to "move on" diplomatically following the release of the Lockerbie bomber.
A Scottish Government spokesman said it "looked forward" to strengthening its relations with America following the pronouncement by a spokesman for the US State Department.
Ian Kelly said that the Obama administration wanted to continue in a "close cooperation" with the UK and Scottish governments following the decision to release Abdelbaset Ali Mohmed Al Megrahi last month.
Megrahi, who has terminal prostate cancer, was freed on compassionate grounds from the life term he was serving at Greenock prison for the bombing, which killed 270 people. The decision by Scottish Justice Secretary Kenny MacAskill to free the only man convicted of the bombing of Pan AM flight 103 in 1988 provoked an international furore in August. At the time President Obama condemned the move as "a mistake".
But Mr Kelly, of the US State Department, told the BBC's Newsnight programme that the US Government had "objected strenuously" to the release of Megrahi, they recognised the country had a "right" to free him and would now focus on restoring good relations with Scotland.
A spokesman for the Scottish Government said: "Scotland and the United States enjoy long and enduring links. Our close ties socially, economically and academically have continually worked for the benefit of all of our people and we look forward to that relationship continuing to strengthen."
Speaking ahead of Libyan leader Colonel Muammar Gaddafi's address to the General Assembly of the United Nations later this week, Mr Kelly said Scotland and the US were "very close allies" and shared an "important relationship". "I don't think it's a matter of forgiving anybody," he said. "I think at this point we're looking to move on.
"I think all along we recognised that Mr MacAskill had the right to do what he did. We're looking to continue the very important co-operation that we have with the United Kingdom and Scotland. We have very deep and abiding ties with Scotland. We're looking to move on, to continue this important relationship that we have with Scotland."
Mr Kelly added that America was "not looking to punish" anyone over the decision to free Megrahi, saying "there is no tit for tat here".
