U.N., Iraq Reach ‘Interim Accord’ on Missile Test Sites : Mideast: The compromise allows the world body to set up video cameras. But Baghdad wins agreement to keep them shut off for now.

A U.N. envoy and Iraqi officials reached an “interim solution” Monday to a standoff over Iraqi missile test sites, ending the immediate threat of a punitive attack by Western allies.

But many difficult technical issues remain to be resolved on confirming Iraq’s compliance with the 1991 Gulf War cease-fire pact and ending international sanctions.

Rolf Ekeus, chairman of the U.N. Special Commission on destroying Iraq’s weapons of mass destruction, flew to Bahrain from Baghdad after his sixth meeting in four days with Deputy Prime Minister Tarik Aziz.

Ekeus told reporters in Bahrain that he is satisfied with the compromise reached on monitoring the two missile sites. Iraqi refusals to allow the installation of video cameras at the sites triggered Baghdad’s latest standoff with the world body.

Iraq has now agreed to allow the surveillance cameras to be installed but the devices won’t be turned on yet, according to diplomats in New York.

But Ekeus said the more important development was a document presented to him by the Iraqis that expressed, for the first time, their willingness to cooperate with long-term monitoring of their weapons programs.

“Our assessment of the Iraqi paper was it contained some positive elements, and I would like to highlight the first element in the paper which contains the statement that Iraq is ready to comply with the monitoring . . . under (U.N. Security Council) Resolution 715,” he said.

Before leaving Baghdad, Ekeus said he no longer feels that military action by the Western allies against Iraq is warranted. The Security Council has the final say on that matter. Ekeus briefs the council later in the week.

“I don’t think there is any reason for an immediate warning against Iraq after these talks,” he said.

The United Nations had warned last Thursday of “serious consequences”--meaning a possible air strike--if Iraq continued blocking U.N. officials from monitoring the two missile-testing sites with video cameras.

Elated Iraqis poured into the streets when the news spread through Western radio broadcasts that their government had avoided another military confrontation with the West.

But the euphoria was short-lived. A further radio broadcast made it clear that there would be no quick lifting of sanctions blocking all imports except food, medicine and humanitarian goods.

Ekeus said he wasn’t sure that Iraq had complied with U.N. Resolution 687, which requires elimination of all mass destruction weapons.

On Jan. 17, after Iraq blocked U.N. inspection flights, the United States fired 45 missiles at a Baghdad factory linked to Iraq’s nuclear weapons program.

U.S. warships on June 27 fired 23 Tomahawk missiles at an intelligence complex in Baghdad in retaliation for an alleged plot to kill former President George Bush while on a visit to Kuwait in April.