 Although informal consultations commenced in April, the main negotiations began only in May.At the same time, throughout early 1939, Germany had secretly hinted to Soviet diplomats that it could offer better terms for a political agreement than Britain and France.The Soviet Union, which feared Western powers and the possibility of "capitalist encirclements", had little faith either that war could be avoided or in the Polish army, and it wanted nothing less than an ironclad military alliance with France and Britain that would provide guaranteed support for a two-pronged attack on Germany; thus, Stalin's adherence to the collective security line was purely conditional.