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US ambassador to Russia explains why he did not resign after Helsinki summit

Jon Huntsman explained that he relied on the opinion of his fellow diplomats advising him against resigning his diplomatic post
US Ambassador to Russia Jon Huntsman Pyotr Kovalev/TASS
US Ambassador to Russia Jon Huntsman
© Pyotr Kovalev/TASS

NEW YORK, July 23. /TASS/. US Ambassador to Russia Jon Huntsman has refused to heed the advice of an American journalist to tender his resignation in the wake of the Russian-US summit in Helsinki. Huntsman explained in the article published in the Salt Lake Tribune that he relied on the opinion of his fellow diplomats advising him against resigning his diplomatic post.

"I have taken an unscientific survey among my colleagues, about whether I should resign. The laughter told me everything I needed to know," the ambassador wrote. He also referred to the opinion of his sons, active-duty naval officers. "Their words when asked if I should resign are unprintable," he noted.

The diplomat invited Salt Lake Tribune columnist Robert Gehrke to visit Moscow and get acquainted with the US Embassy staff. "Their focus is on the work that needs to be done to stabilize the most dangerous relationship in the world, one that encompasses nuclear weapons, fighting terrorism, stopping bloodshed in Ukraine, and seeking a settlement of the seemingly intractable Syrian crisis. Their dedication to service to their country is above politics, and it inspires me to the core," Huntsman explained.

He thus answered to Gehrke’s column published in that newspaper earlier who urged the US ambassador to resign arguing that he works "for a pawn, not a president."

US President Donald Trump came under fire in his home country for his insufficiently tough stance on Russia’s alleged meddling in the 2016 US presidential election. Both liberal mass media and Democrats and many of Trump’s fellow party members criticized the president. US opposition lawmakers also called for Donald Trump’s interpreter who was present at Trump’s one-on-one meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Helsinki to testify before Congress about the negotiations.