Johannesburg – Sudan's government has inked a deal with the strongest, most active rebel group in Darfur.

Under the agreement, signed Tuesday in Doha, Qatar neither a cease-fire nor a truce, but a "confidence-building agreement" the Khartoum government and the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) agree to exchange prisoners and to discuss ways to stop the fighting in Darfur.

The move could kick-start a long-dormant peace process.

"The government needs to make a big breakthrough to show the international community it is doing something for the resolution of the Darfur conflict," says Murtada al-Ghali, chief of the editorial department of Ajras al-Hurya, an independent newspaper in Khartoum, known for its critical views of the government.

It could also be a stalling tactic.

Coming just days before an anticipated decision by the International Criminal Court (ICC) to formally indict Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir on war crimes charges, the agreement is seen by some as a bid to delay if not quash the charges altogether, and to indicate that the Arab world is sorting out the Darfur problem in its own way.

"This doesn't mean all that much at this stage, this is not a cease-fire, it's only a commitment to talk," says Alex De Waal, a Sudan expert at the Social Science Research Council in New York. "But both sides gain legitimacy by talking. What is in it for JEM? JEM is becoming recognized as the only negotiating partner on the rebel side."