The UK Government will not help to facilitate an independent Scotland`s policies if they are at odds with the remainder of the UK, according to the Scottish Secretary.
The Edinburgh Agreement that committed the two governments to mutual co-operation is not a "magic" document that will "erase all the difficult questions" over independence, Michael Moore said.
Mr Moore addressed a seminar organised by financial services body TheCityUK in Edinburgh, which also heard from Holyrood Finance Secretary John Swinney. Mr Moore said the Scottish Government's independence plans are based on "shifting sands and enormous doubt".
"It's not just the pound sterling that the Scottish Government claim they now want to adopt, but also the UK's financial regulatory framework," he said.
"The Scottish Government like to tell us that banks and financial services in an independent Scotland would remain under the UK regulatory regime because 'that framework is solid and substantial' - John Swinney's own words. But, as you in this audience know, under European rules every member state must have its own regulatory system.
"The Scottish Government tell us that they will be part of Europe, but they have yet to explain how their proposal to adopt the financial framework of another state would work, never mind how they will become part of the EU (European Union).
"Now there are those who say that Scots need not worry about these problems because the referendum agreement states that Scotland's two governments will work together. That paragraph 30 is a magic paragraph that will erase all the difficult questions."
The Scottish Government has placed significant weight on paragraph 30, particularly in relation to foreign and financial affairs.
During the SNP's autumn conference, Mr Swinney said the agreement renders suggestions that Scotland would not be able to continue with sterling "totally redundant", claiming the UK Government can not and will not oppose the SNP's currency plan but will work with Scotland "to navigate their way through the issue speedily and respectfully".
Earlier this month, Mr Moore told Holyrood's Referendum Bill Committee that the agreement is not an "Aladdin's lamp" that would make "the awkward consequences" of independence disappear. He said Scotland would have to negotiate both its entry and terms of membership of Europe, but the UK would work with them to do that "co-operatively and constructively".
