Last checked at 
(Adds reaction from British Foreign Office)
LONDON, Oct 21 (Reuters) - Russia has been forced to cut thesize of its embassy in London after Britain delayed grantingvisas for months to dozens of its staff including careerdiplomats, the Russian ambassador said on Friday.
Russia and Britain have repeatedly clashed publicly overSyria, Ukraine and the 2006 London murder of former KGB agentAlexander Litvinenko.
British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson said earlier thismonth that Russia risked becoming a pariah nation if itcontinued to bomb civilian sites in Syria and urged protestersto demonstrate outside the Russian embassy in London.
In an unusual public intervention that indicates how testyrelations have become between Britain and Russia, AmbassadorAlexander Yakovenko scolded Prime Minister Theresa May andJohnson for giving what he said were "anti-Russian statements".
He said that for over a year Britain had been delaying visasto diplomatic staff.
"We are trying to understand whether Britain wants to havean adequate Russian diplomatic presence in London," Yakovenko, aformer deputy foreign minister, said.
"The embassy is shrinking and if it continues the embassywill be reduced further. People cannot be replaced because thevisas are not being issued. I hope this problem will be resolvedunder present government."
Russia said this week it may retaliate after a Britishstate-owned bank said it was withdrawing its services fromKremlin-backed Russian broadcaster RT.
Russia's foreign ministry spokeswoman on Friday linked thedispute to the BBC and pointed out that the corporation'sRussian service had run what she dismissed as an emptyinvestigation into RT's UK activities.
"Here in London, we simply do not understand the strategy ofthis country on visa issues," Yakovenko said.
A spokesman for Britain's Foreign Office said there was nopolicy of delaying visas for Russian diplomats.
"We have made clear to the Russians that the queues need tobe cleared on both sides, and they have agreed work with us onthis," the Foreign Office spokesman said. "There is no policy todelay visas for Russian diplomats."
"We regularly discuss the visa exchange process with theRussians at official level and this requires both the UK andRussia to work together to ensure the effective operation of ourrespective embassies," the spokesman said. (Reporting by Guy Faulconbridge; editing by Stephen Addison)
