WASHINGTON, December 23. /TASS/. Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky's trip to the United States revealed major differences in opinion between him and the US leader Joe Biden about the strategy for ending the Ukrainian conflict, foreign policy columnist David Ignatius opined in his article for the Washington Post on Friday.

In his opinion, Zelensky's visit to Washington was actually a "war summit."

"And it appears to have ended with a gap between the two allies about their strategies for ending the war," the expert believes.

Ignatius drew attention to the fact that in his speech to Congress, Zelensky declared that he is seeking "absolute victory" over Russia.

"Zelensky used the word "victory" 11 times in his speech, and once during his remarks to reporters at the White House after his meeting with President Biden. Tellingly, Biden didn’t use the word a single time," the observer noted.

"Biden actively resists the rhetoric of ‘total victory,’" Ignatius stressed.

"Avoiding a direct conflict between the United States and Russia, even as we support Ukraine’s resistance, has been one of the president’s central war aims," the observer wrote.

"At some point next year, the tension beneath the surface in this war summit will have to be addressed. There will need to be greater clarity and convergence on what Ukrainian success looks like, short of "absolute victory," the expert added.

Zelensky in Washington

On December 21, at the invitation of Biden, Zelensky spent several hours in Washington, where he met with the head of state, the leadership of Congress, and delivered a speech. Zelensky's visit was timed to coincide with the announcement of a new $1.85 billion US military aid package. For the first time, the Patriot air defense battery was included in it.

On February 24, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced a special military operation in Ukraine in response to a request from the leaders of the Donbass republics for help. The West then imposed large-scale sanctions against Russia and increased arms supplies to Kiev by billions of dollars.