BERLIN (AFP) May 10, 2001 US officials faced tough questioning in Berlin Thursday on President George W. Bush's plan to build a missile defence shield, and the threat of a civil disobedience campaign in Britain over the proposed system.

"I think we found openness and a willingness to discuss but also very, very serious questions," US Deputy Secretary of Defense Paul Wolfowitz told a US embassy briefing in Berlin, where he held talks with German officials.

"I would say one of the central themes of our discussions was how do you move forward in a way that is cooperative rather than confrontational. Of the many questions we were asked, a lot of them revolved around that core."

Wolfowitz and a delegation of top US officials have been touring Europe as part of a global initiative by the Bush administration to try and overcome opposition to his so-called "Son of Star Wars" project.

The project aims to develop a sophisticated if costly system to knock out ballistic missiles liable to be fired by so-called "rogue states", such as North Korea and Iraq.

Germany, like many of the NATO allies, has expressed reservations about the controversial missile shield, including fears that it could lead to a new arms race and antagonise Russia.

A senior German official described the five-hour-long talks with the US delegation as "a good and detailed exchange of opinions about a wide range of questions.

He said Germany had not yet taken a firm position on the programme and said that questions had been put to the delegation on the feasibility and financing of the program, a reworking of the 1972 international Anti-Ballistic Missile (ABM) treaty and the chances for US ratification of the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (CTBT).

The CTBT, which the US Senate rejected in October 1999, would stop nuclear testing worldwide.

A separate delegation led by US Under Secretary of State Marc Grossman carried Bush's message to Rome Thursday, where the government has also been skeptical of the plan, saying it risks relaunching an arms race. Grossman was scheduled in Turkey later Thursday.

Wolfowitz also faced thorny talks in Moscow, where he is due to arrive late Thursday, although Russia, the world's leading opponent of the national missile defence system (NMD), said it was also ready for dialogue.

"The problem of anti-missile defence is very difficult and needs very detailed discussion," the Russian foreign ministry's spokesman Alexander Yakovenko said in a statement.

"We will outline to the American representatives our stance on the strengthening of strategic stability, and we will also ask questions about their 'counter-ideas' on this subject," Yakovenko added.

China Thursday also said it was willing to hold talks with a US envoy on the issue, but stressed it was firmly opposed to the plan.

US Assistant Secretary of State For East Asian and Pacific Affairs James Kelly is to arrive in Beijing on May 14 and 15 for talks on the missile shield and other Sino-US problems.

Beijing is one of the strongest opponents of US missile defense, which it believes would undermine China's military capabilities.

In contrast to other stops on the tour, the Wolfowitz delegation's charm offensive was well received in Warsaw Thursday, where Polish officials welcomed the US intention to include allies under its missile shield.

Poland, unlike some other NATO members, has been broadly receptive to the plans of the new US administration to develop a missile shield.

In Britain, Washington's closest ally, Prime Minister Tony Blair has described the shield as "broadly" a good idea. But he is still considering whether to allow Washington to use two tracking stations in northern England that would be essential to the scheme.

On Thursday, residents near the two installations, at Menwith Hill and Fylingdales in North Yorkshire, threatened a campaign of civil disobedience unless the NMD plan is dropped.

Local groups argue that it would make the tracking stations potential targets for missile and terrorist attacks.

"I am sure that people would pull all the stops out if was actually beginning to go ahead," said Jackie Fearnley, a 54-year-old housewife who lives in the nearest village to Fylingdales and runs the Fylingdales Action Network.

She added: "We would use any non-violent means we could to stop it, including civil disobedience."

A hard core of anti-nuclear campaigners have protested outside Fylingdales and Menwith Hill for some years, often by cutting through the security fences and trespassing on the sites.

On Wednesday, more than 100 British members of parliament signed a motion presented expressing their "concern" over the project.