The vice-chairman of the Policing Board, Denis Bradley, said he is "utterly depressed and disappointed" at the failure to agree a deal at Hillsborough.
Mr Bradley said he had hoped people would have been dancing in the street following the recent Hillsborough talks but people were left with a feeling of cynicism.
Speaking exclusively in today's Irish News, he said: "I would have wanted to write at a time and in an atmosphere when people could have danced in the streets, knowing precisely what had been achieved.
"Instead it is against a backdrop of cynicism and anger that the finishing line was in sight but, as yet, the tape remains intact."
His comments came after two days of intense negotiations between the pro-agreement parties and the British and Irish premiers ended without a resolution. But Mr Bradley said people should not forget what has been achieved after 30 years.
"Despite the disappointment of what happened in Hillsborough Castle on Tuesday, the war is over," he said.
"The prayers of all those men, women and children whom I have known during the last 30 years have finally been answered."
However, he said the people of the north deserved to have had a deal brokered by their politicians this week.
"The same people must hold their nerve and their hope for another short time," Mr Bradley said. "They deserved to see the finishing tape broken before they entered another Lent.
"They have watched some of their politicians grow into statesmen and endured the frustration of seeing others behave like spoiled children."
Meanwhile, reports that US President George Bush is to snub Sinn Féin president Gerry Adams during next week's St Patrick's Day celebrations at the White House have been firmly denied.
Mr Adams, together with a other political leaders, has been invited to the White House. A London-based newspaper had suggested that he would not be permitted to shake hands with President Bush or visit the Oval Office next week.
However, a senior US government official indicated to the Irish News last night (Thursday) that plans for the St Patrick's Day function were still being finalised.
