  The problem of comparison of the stationary axisymmetric vacuum solutions
obtained within the framework of exact and approximate approaches for the
description of the same general relativistic systems is considered. We suggest
two ways of carrying out such comparison: (i) through the calculation of the
Ernst complex potential associated with the approximate solution whose form on
the symmetry axis is subsequently used for the identification of the exact
solution possessing the same multipole structure, and (ii) the generation of
approximate solutions from exact ones by expanding the latter in series of
powers of a small parameter. The central result of our paper is the derivation
of the correct approximate analogues of the double-Kerr solution possessing the
physically meaningful equilibrium configurations. We also show that the
interpretation of an approximate solution originally attributed to it on the
basis of some general physical suppositions may not coincide with its true
nature established with the aid of a more accurate technique.
