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