Pakistan has agreed to reopen vital supply routes to Afghanistan after the United States issued a carefully-worded apology for a cross border Nato airstrike, which killed 24 Pakistani soldiers last year.
The US Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton, extended the olive branch in a telephone conversation with Pakistan's Foreign Minister, Hina Rabbani Khar.
In a statement later, Clinton said: "We are sorry for the losses suffered by the Pakistani military. We are committed to working closely with Pakistan and Afghanistan to prevent this from ever happening again."
The apology ends a seven month war of words between the two countries, and comes after several previous attempts to end the dispute.
Pakistan closed the supply routes after Nato jets blasted Pakistani military positions last November.
As well as closing the routes, a furious Islamabad also threatened to increase the tariffs for transit fees. The Pakistani government has relented on that issue as well.
The routes are seen as essential for success in ending the long-running conflict in Afghanistan.
The apology should now lay the ground for a better relationship between the two countries, which has deteriorated greatly over the last year.
The killing of Osama Bin Laden by US Navy Seals was viewed by many in Pakistan as a violation of sovereignty. His presence was also an enormous embarrassment to Pakistan's powerful military.
Continued US drone strikes in Pakistan's tribal areas are also a matter of dispute, with many Pakistanis increasingly hostile to the United States.
Pakistan's Taliban, meanwhile, have condemned the decision to reopen supply lines - a decision which is also profoundly unpopular amongst much of the population.
Militants are vowing to unleash a wave of attacks on trucks carrying supplies into Afghanistan - the routes are vulnerable to such operations.
"We will attack Nato supplies all over Pakistan. We will not allow anyone to use Pakistani soil to transport supplies that will be used against the Afghan people," the group's spokesman told Reuters by telephone from an undisclosed location.
The opening of the supply lines is a sign that diplomatic tensions are easing and many analysts believe it will presage greater co-operation between the two countries over the coming months.
Washington has been reluctant to issue an apology before because of anger in the US over allegations that Pakistan intelligence agency – the ISI - is shielding militants and allowing them to launch attacks on American troops in Afghanistan.
