The EU left Italy to deal with the refugee crisis alone “for many years” before realizing it was a pan-European issue, Franco Frattini, Italy’s former foreign minister who has also served as European Commissioner for Justice, Freedom, and Security, told RT.

Dealing with the EU’s immigration policies was part of Frattini’s job on the European Commission. He said powerful members of the alliance like Germany were reluctant to speak out against the status quo.

“The situation was not changing at all through the years. Then suddenly [they] realized that migration is a European issue, not a Sicilian or Italian or Greek. They realized [that there were] Balkan routes. At that moment they said: ‘Oh! We need border sharing, we need a distribution, we need to block our external borders,’” he said.

Frattini said that, during his tenure as a European Commissioner, he had suggested measures to make the EU’s borders more secure, but they were rejected.

“President of the European Commission [Jean-Claude] Juncker said a few days ago, ‘Frattini’s plan was never adopted; we need to re-propose it now ten years later.’ I’m not saying this to say I was good. But unfortunately Europe is lacking vision and leadership to address migration,” he said.

Now the problem has grown into one of the most important issues facing the EU, Frattini said. Attitudes towards refugees is now a key factor in elections all across Europe.

“In France, Marine Le Pen wants to get votes on [the refugee issue] and the government is rejecting it. Germany is going to election. This is one of the most important points at stake. The rightists are getting votes in all the regional elections in Germany on this. Austria will likely vote for an anti-migrant president, again on this. They close the border between Austria and Italy for weeks and months on this!” he said.

Frattini also spoke to RT about the ongoing stand-off in Syria, where the violence has continued since the US broke off cooperation with Russia on a ceasefire and is reportedly considering attacking Syrian government forces.

The former minister said the current wave of confrontational rhetoric is unlikely to lead to any breakthrough in Syria, and that the key players must cooperate and compromise to find a meaningful solution to the crisis.

READ MORE: No sign US is seriously battling Al-Nusra; calls not to fly over Aleppo suspicious – Lavrov

“Some years ago, [US] President [Barack] Obama made a formal proposal to the European allies to go to war against Assad. And he realized even his closest ally, [then-UK Prime Minister David] Cameron, did not find a majority in the House of Commons. And the proposal has been withdrawn,” Frattini said.

“Then we moved from the failed proposal to go to war to an opposite proposal – to cooperate on Assad to dismantle [the Syrian] chemical arsenal. Russia, the East, Europe agreed, and it was the only successful example of cooperation since the beginning of the crisis in Syria. So my moral is: cooperation – success; fighting, confrontation, threats – failure.”

No-fly zone in Aleppo would protect Al-Nusra – former Italian FM to RT 

Creating a no fly zone in the Syrian city of Aleppo would mean protecting Jabhat al-Nusra terrorists, who should instead be the target of international airstrikes together with Islamic State, Franco Frattini, Italy’s former foreign minister, told RT. 

“It was a mistake from the Western coalition in not highlighting the distinction between the so-called moderate rebels and… [Jabhat] al-Nusra,” Frattini, who has also served as European Commissioner for Justice, said in an interview at RT’s studios in Moscow on Sunday. 

The former Italian FM expressed confidence that Al-Nusra should be a target of international strikes, just like Islamic State (IS/Daesh, formerly ISIS/ISIL). “I’m completely convinced that if this point is overcome, the solution [to the Syrian crisis] will be found,” he said. Frattini spoke out against creating a “no-fly zone” over Syria’s strategic city of Aleppo, which was proposed by France in a vetoed UN Security Council resolution earlier this week. “Let’s not talk simply about the ‘no-fly zone,’” Frattini said. “I know very well the story of the no-fly zone in Libya. But now a no-fly zone in an area Al-Nusra [controls], will be protecting an Al-Qaeda-affiliated group.” 

READ MORE: No sign US is seriously battling Al-Nusra; calls not to fly over Aleppo suspicious – Lavrov 

Despite claims to the contrary from Washington, “it is possible to separate Al-Nusra from moderate rebels because al-Nusra occupy some well-determined areas of eastern Aleppo” and modern military technologies “allow [us] to target particularly small areas where terrorists are without hitting innocent civilians,” Frattini said. According to Frattini, the Americans are pandering to its allies in the Middle East by refusing to separate Al-Nusra jihadists from the moderates. “It’s not mainly the US interest. It’s the interest of Gulf Sunni states that are behind Sunni jihadists… Saudi Arabia is supporting jihadists, providing weapons. And Saudi Arabia is historically an ally of the US,” he said. “Sunni states in the Gulf want to liberate Damascus from Syrian President Bashar Assad and all the Shia that are there, not to liberate eastern Aleppo from terrorists,” Frattini added. 

READ MORE: US, Britain and France now air force for terrorists in Syria (OP-ED) 

Meanwhile, there is Iran on the other side, which said that “protecting eastern Aleppo from terrorists is our national interest” and will never allow Assad to be removed, he said. “Let’s restore a contact group where all main players [are present] – first of all, Russia and the US, but also Turkey, Saudi Arabia and Iran. Without having these five players around the table” no peace can be achieved in Syria, Frattini said. The various sides must talk, no matter what their differences are, as “you can only make peace with your enemies, not friends,” he explained. The breakdown of the Russia-US peace deal in Syria in late September “shouldn’t be the end of cooperation,” the politician said. “It’s going to be against the interest of the US, us the Europeans, against the interest of stability in the whole region,” he added. Military and diplomatic cooperation between Russia and the US is the only way to succeed, which was proven by the successful destruction of Syrian chemical weapons back in 2014, Frattini said. “From [Obama’s] failed proposal to go to war [with the Syrian government] we go to the opposite proposal to cooperate with Assad to dismantle the chemical arsenal. Russia, the East, Europe agreed. And it was the only successful example of cooperation since the beginning of the crisis in Syria… This is the example from, which we have to learn,” he said. Recent harsh statements toward Moscow from Washington can be explained by the American presidential campaign, with “rhetoric becoming louder and louder and louder as the election approaches,” the ex-FM said. He urged the US not to downplay Moscow’s achievements in Syria, stressing that “Russia, which isn’t the best ally to Riyadh, has been a bit more committed.” 

READ MORE: 'Europe lacks vision & leadership to address migration' – Italian ex-FM to RT 

“Since Russia decided to engage very strongly in Syria’s fight against the terrorists, things have changed in a good direction – Daesh has reduced its sphere of occupation, many cities and villages were liberated,” Frattini said.