Boycotting the elections would not be a wise decision, US Ambassador to Bosnia and Herzegovina Michael Murphy said following the unsuccessful end of the latest round of talks on the US/EU-mediated political talks on electoral reform. He told the leaders that now is the time to turn to the October elections.

Murphy, who was one of the foreign mediators in the talks alongside EU's Angelina Eichhorst, said that the agreement was disabled by the rejection to make the institutions of the Bosniak-Croat Federation entity more functional.

He stressed that the US will persist in holding responsible those who keep the Bosnia's future a hostage.

“It is better not to reach an agreement than to reach a bad agreement,” Murphy was quoted as saying.

However, he stressed, there were “components of an agreement” on table that would deliver the most of what the leaders said they needed.

Unfortunately, he added, the SDA and the HDZ BiH parties could not translate it into a compromise.

Also, the ambassador noted, there was too much focus on the symbolic and less on the substance, which is actually what the citizens need.

As for the upcoming elections, scheduled for October this year, Murphy stressed that they must take place.

“If a party decides to boycott elections, I am telling them – that is not wise. That would be a mistake,” the ambassador was quoted as saying.

HDZ BiH leader Dragan Covic said earlier today, dissatisfied with the outcome of the talks, that there are no conditions to hold elections in BiH.