ROUGH CUT (NO REPORTER NARRATION)<br/> <br />STORY: Russia's failure to take steps to ease the crisis in Ukraine is "regrettable" and the United States is ready to respond quickly following a referendum planned for Sunday on whether Ukraine's Crimea region should join Russia, the White House said on Friday.<br/> <br />"We have obviously not gotten to a situation where Russia has chosen to de-escalate, where Russia has chosen a path of resolving the situation peacefully and through diplomacy. That is regrettable," White House spokesman Jay Carney told a briefing.<br/> <br />"We stand ready to respond should the referendum go forward on Sunday," Carney said.<br/> <br />Carney's comments came as U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry met with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov in London in talks aimed at reducing tensions ahead of the planned referendum.<br/> <br />=
