U.S. Ambassador to Russia Jon Huntsman is responding to a writer who called for him to resign in a fiery column at a newspaper owned by Huntsman's family.

Robert Gehrke urged Huntsman to step down following President Trump's summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin with a column in The Salt Lake Tribune, which is owned by Huntsman's brother.

Gehrke wrote that Huntsman should use his status to speak out against Trump.

"To remain silent and continue to serve this president would be complicity in the undoing of our nation and its status as a world leader," Gehrke wrote. "Come home, Mr. Huntsman. Your country needs you."

In his own column, published Saturday, Huntsman defended his decision to continue working for the Trump administration.

"I've been around politics long enough to understand the moment we face and the legitimate arguments on all sides," he wrote. "In fact, I regularly advocate in a hostile environment for the very values that allow us to have this conversation."

During the summit, Trump refused to confront Putin over Russian interference in the election, and spoke out against his own intelligence community's assessment of the situation, comments he later walked back.

Huntsman wrote that though day-to-day politics "are felt by all" who represent the U.S. in the foreign and civil service, those officials "have neither the time nor inclination to obsess over politics."

"Their dedication to service to their country is above politics, and it inspires me to the core," he wrote. "It is my standard."

Huntsman said that he has "taken an unscientific survey" of his colleagues to ask their thoughts on Gehrke's suggestion that he resign.

"The laughter told me everything I needed to know," he wrote. "It also underscores the fragile nature of this moment."

Huntsman added that his sons, whom Gehrke referenced in his column, also had an opinion on whether he should step down: "Their words when asked if I should resign are unprintable."