It sounds as though he was left with the feeling that his requirements to sign up for continued adventures as Elliot Stabler were at least a little bit dismissed, and possibly had him go on his way with the idea that those behind the show (at time time, anyway) felt like they didn’t need Stabler in order to continue.
Christopher Meloni was quick to acknowledge how difficult his departure must have been on Mariska Hargitay, but also noted how he was able to leave with a sense of peace after how everything went down during his contract negotiations.
But, as Meloni said, once he was aware of how things were being handled, he had no problem simply walking away to tackle other projects, which he has done to a very successful degree outside of Law & Order: SVU.