By Sam Schechner and James Marson
Hours before Total SA Chief Executive Christophe de Margerie
died in a Moscow plane crash, the French oil titan was fighting for
a cause he often championed in his 40-year career: an end to trade
sanctions that would hurt his business.
During a closed-door meeting with Russian Prime Minister Dmitry
Medvedev and other foreign CEOs on Monday evening, the 63-year-old
executive railed against sanctions the European Union and U.S. have
adopted against Russia over the situation in Ukraine. But he also
implored Russia to "do what is necessary" to calm relations with
the West, according a copy of the speech that was reviewed by The
Wall Street Journal.
"If we want long-term, stable, foreign investment to continue
flowing into Russia, we will have to restore a stable and peaceful
economic space between Russia and our countries," Mr. de Margerie
said, adding that "both sides must do their part."
Total didn't have an immediate comment on the speech.
It was the latest stump speech in which Mr. de Margerie has
pushed back against Western sanctions on places where he does
business, but has also attempted to persuade those countries to
change their behavior. From Myanmar to Iran, his position won Mr.
de Margerie some fans among other business leaders, but set him up
for criticism.
"I have not made myself very popular in my own country, as I am
often accused of selfish interest" he acknowledged in the speech on
Monday. "Actually, if I don't like sanctions, it is because I
believe they are both unfair and unproductive," he added.
The situation in Russia is perhaps one of the biggest challenges
Mr. de Margerie faced. He has invested heavily in the country,
buying a large stake in OAO Novatek, one of Russia's biggest
independent natural-gas producers. The company is also hoping to
develop a large gas field in the Arctic Circle with OAO
Gazprom.
Rising tension over Russia's annexation of the Crimea in the
spring, followed by the Kremlin's backing of pro-Russian
separatists thought to be responsible for the accidental downing of
a commercial airliner has recently put a damper on those
investments.
Mr. de Margerie emerged as a vocal critic of the punitive
measures adopted by the European Union, arguing that the
destruction of business ties with Russia risked deepening the
West's standoff with the Kremlin over its intervention in
Ukraine.
"He was not alone" in that point of view, said Paolo Scaroni,
former chief executive of Italian oil giant Eni SpA.
In Monday's speech, Mr. de Margerie's argument against sanctions
was that "business is a force for good, a channel for dialogue" but
that the in the current situation "business is being held hostage
by politics."
For Mr. de Margerie, who was close with Russian President
Vladimir Putin as well as with Mr. Medvedev, the appeal was partly
personal. "Mr. Prime Minister, Russia has many friends and partners
in the West. We don't consider that Russia can be isolated from the
major global economic and political process," Mr. de Margerie
said.
Stacy Meichtry also contributed to this article.
Write to Sam Schechner at sam.schechner@wsj.com and James Marson
at james.marson@wsj.com