The murder conviction of U.S. student Amanda Knox has not damaged U.S.-Italian relations, despite suggestions the verdict was tainted by anti-American sentiment, a top Italian diplomat said Monday.

After a tense weekend, the diplomat sought to quell speculation of a full-blown crisis, saying that no criticism had come from the U.S. secretary of state.

"Who criticized?" asked Italian Foreign Minister Franco Frattini, speaking to reporters in Brussels. "Certainly not Hillary Clinton. Let's not create confusion."

Clinton, speaking Sunday, said she had not looked into the case but would meet with anybody who had concerns.

In Washington, State Department spokesman Ian C. Kelly said Clinton was interested in the case and intended to speak with Sen. Maria Cantwell, a Democrat from Washington state, who has questioned the fairness of the trial.

Asked whether the State Department believed Knox had been treated fairly, Kelly said, "I don't have any indications to the contrary. I do know that our embassy in Rome was very closely involved in this. They visited Amanda Knox. They have monitored the trial."

He added: "We are not going to comment too much on an ongoing legal process."

Knox was convicted over the weekend of sexually assaulting and murdering her British roommate, Meredith Kercher, and sentenced to 26 years in jail.

Her co-defendant and former boyfriend, Raffaele Sollecito of Italy, was found guilty of the same charges and sentenced to 25 years in prison. All were studying in Perugia at the time of the 2007 slaying.

Knox and Sollecito have been behind bars since shortly after the killing. They have maintained their innocence and plan to appeal.

The jury in Perugia must issue the rationale for its ruling within the next 90 days.

The verdict shocked the Knox family and other supporters of the 22-year-old from Seattle. They blamed the decision largely on what they called prosecutors' character assassination of Knox.

Sen. Cantwell said in a statement that she had "serious questions about the Italian justice system and whether anti-Americanism tainted this trial."

She said "other flaws in the Italian justice system on display in this case" included negligent handling of evidence and harsh treatment of Knox after her arrest, a charge Italian police have denied.

Many noted that the jury, two judges and six civilians, had not been sequestered during the yearlong trial, and could therefore be influenced by news coverage.

Media interest in the case has been intense since Kercher's body was found in a pool of blood Nov. 2, 2007, in the apartment she shared with Knox.