In this, both the West and Vladimir Putin are aiming for the same thing, though in the former case, with the intention of striking a peace.

Putin remains the only party who lacks interest in achieving peace, the experts added.

Speaking to "Aktuaalne kaamera," political scientist Karmo Tüür compared the current meetings to a tug-of-war match. On the one side is Putin, on the other, Europe. Both are trying to draw Donald Trump's ire, be it on to Ukraine or on to Russia. But the West is proceeding on the principle that the war is at a deadlock, so the solution is something resembling a peace. Yet Putin does not see it this way.

"The Russian side, Vladimir Putin's side ie. the root cause of this conflict, is this vision inside Vladimir Putin's head that he can push further. And the negotiations taking place will not change that mental state, inside Vladimir Putin's head," Tüür added.

International Center for Defense Studies (ICDS) researcher Igor Gretskiy meanwhile said that over the last half year, the rules of the game have been that whoever says "no" to Donald Trump is the "loser." For this reason, Russia is sending out signals which imply it is ready for peace, when it is actually not.

"Then what does Putin do? He supports Trump on a path where peace negotiations supposedly appear at the end. He needs this so at the same time he can wage war, continue the aggression," Gretskiy added.

Putin traveled to Alaska last Friday for talks with Trump. Of more substance was Monday's meeting between Trump and Ukraine's Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Washington, joined by the leaders of several European states. While European leaders have insisted a ceasefire in Ukraine must precede any further meetings or negotiation, Trump has stopped short of this, even as he did hint at U.S. security guarantees for Ukraine.

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