KHARTOUM, Feb. 20 (Xinhua) -- Sudanese government said on Saturday it expected that a comprehensive peace agreement for ending the Darfur crisis would be reached before mid March this year.

"We agreed to reach a final agreement for the issue before March 15 this year," Ghazi Salahuddin, Sudanese Presidential Adviser, who is also in charge of the Darfur file, told reporters in Khartoum upon return from the Chadian capital of N'djamena where a framework agreement was signed between Khartoum and the Darfur's rebel Justice and Equality Movement (JEM).

The Sudanese official said the framework agreement, which was signed today, constituted an important approach for the peace in Darfur.

"We hope this agreement will be the end for the Darfur issue, particularly in its military aspect," he said.

"Ceasefire is the most important part of this agreement. This agreement shall be valid as of today. We hope to speed up this item to reach a written and abiding agreement that tackles the issue of military arrangements and leads to a full cessation of all military operations," he added.

In the meantime, the Sudanese presidential adviser refuted that the bilateral talks between the government and JEM, under the patronage of the Chadian President Idriss Deby Itno, was a violation of the Doha track, saying that "the assumptions that these talks are outside the Doha framework are wrong."

"These talks in fact constitute a boost to the Doha talks. These talks do not mean neglecting the other armed groups within the Arab- African initiative, led by the Qatar State," he added.

The Sudanese government and JEM on Saturday signed a framework agreement in Chad where the agreement stipulated a ceasefire between the movement and the Sudanese authorities to be followed by peace negotiations between the two sides.

A final agreement is expected to be signed on Tuesday in Doha, Qatar, in the presence of the Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir and his Chadian counterpart Idriss Deby Itno, who played the role of mediator between the two sides.

In a related development, the Sudanese president on Saturday canceled the death sentences earlier issued against some JEM members who were accused of being involved in the JEM forces' attack on Omdurman in May 2008.