Well, I don't want to argue with you, but that's not what Pacino said. An extract from an interview:
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Enzo, I'm interested to know what year that interview is from. Is it from the 70s just after GF2 (in which case you must have a collection of Playboys )? Or is it more recent?

Well, I have to say that Pacino's description of Fredo employs exactly the word I was thinking: harmless. Why? First, because I don't believe that Fredo knowingly conspired to kill Michael. Although Fredo harbours resentment against his brother, his feelings are more complex than total hate. Michael is the closest family that the lonely Fredo has, the only one with whom he can truly form a bond. The scene of their afternoon talk in Havana and their embrace at Mama's funeral show that Fredo needs and longs for that bond. Second, I believe that Fredo was misled by Roth, and that the ensuing devastation that this misplaced trust caused to Fredo's life will forever scar him, preventing him from being so trusting of others' motivations again. I think it will effectively preclude him from being even an inadvertent risk.

I don't believe that Fredo ever wanted Michael out of the way so he could take over as Don for power's sake. The meaning for him lay in being Don with Michael under him: the older brother taking care of the kid brother. Michael was a necessary part of the equation. But since Vito did not make Fredo the Don, at the least Fredo longed for some sort of equality and mutual respect. He experienced that when he and Michael had a heart-to-heart talk in Havana on the afternoon of New Year's Eve. In that scene, Michael treats Fredo as a confidant and partner, and Fredo is overwhelmed.

After Michael disowns Fredo, Fredo seems utterly in pain because of the rift. At Mama's funeral, when Fredo and Michael embrace, one can see the emotion in his face as he believes that Michael has forgiven him and welcomed him back into the fold. If Michael had let him live, Fredo wouldn't have dared disturb this reconciliation.