Well, granted my knowledge derives from a single Wikipedia article, but it sounds to me like they considered it and concluded there was more to lose than there

Well, granted my knowledge derives from a single Wikipedia article, but it sounds to me like they considered it and concluded there was more to lose than there was to gain. Several diplomatic notes were sent back and forth and they couldn't even agree on basic conditions for starting negotiations. Yes, the West had ulterior motives, but it is naive to think that the USSR didn't also.