In a written statement on Saturday, Ashdown said that any agreement would have to be okayed by the two entities' parliaments, which he added must occur by mid-September if Bosnia wanted negotiations on a Stabilisation and Association Agreement with the EU to be launched by the tenth anniversary of the Dayton agreement, which ended the war in the country.
Ashdown issued the statement ahead of a new round of negotiations on police reform scheduled for Tuesday. The negotiations were interrupted because the Serb side was against the reform, namely the abolishment of entity interior ministries.
According to Ashdown's statement, the political parties at the talks in Sarajevo are expected to reach a framework agreement on the police reform.