DesktopDir variable returns Mac OS Desktop path instead of Windows Destop path when running on a VM

If I execute a QT installer on a Windows VM that runs on a Macintosh, the @DesktopDir@ returns the Mac Desktop path (\\Mac\Home\Desktop) instead of the Windows Desktop path (C:\users\username\desktop).

Then it fails to create a desktop shortcut: "Error during installation process (com.xxx.yyy):\nCannot create link \"\\\\Mac\\Home\\Desktop\\maintenancetool.lnk\"

VM: Parallels Desktop 11 for Mac, v11.2.3 (32663)
Guest OS: Windows 10 x64 (whatever the latest patches are as of today 2018-03-12)

This happens when the VM is configured to share the Desktop folder with the Mac. However, it should still work I believe.

Note the following interesting behavior:

If I type "%UserProfile%\Desktop" in the Windows Explorer, it shows the folder at \\Mac\Home\Desktop

If I open a command prompt and type "echo %UserProfile%\Desktop", it returns: C:\users\username\Desktop