Rachid Ghannouchi, the leader of Tunisia’s ruling Ennahda party Rachid Ghannouchi, the leader of Tunisia’s ruling Ennahda party, has said that the \'Friends of Syria\' conference hosted by Tunisia on Friday “desires to remove the remaining legitimacy of the corrupt Assad regime, and to provide political support to the heroic Syrian people who are determined to free themselves from a despotic, corrupt and sectarian authority.”
The leader stressed in a press conference on Thursday that “Tunisia’s hosting of the conference was based on an invitation from the Arab League,” pointing out that Tunisia accepted on condition that it would not result in a decree allowing foreign military interference.
Ghannouchi added: “The conference is a sort of victory for the Syrian people, who have been bleeding for about a year...we must stand by their side.”
When asked about countries (viz. Russia, China, Lebanon) who have chosen to boycott the conference, Ghannouchi said “this issue concerns only them”. He added: “It’s a shame that such a regime finds supporters in an era of revolutions.\"
A source in the Tunisian foreign ministry denied any association with Qatar for the organisation of the conference. The source, who wished to be anonymous, condemned rumours that the meeting was organised with Qatari political and financial sponsorship, stressing that the Tunisian Authority was sponsoring the conference.
 “There is a general trend to obtain, during the conference, recognition from 80 countries of the Syrian opposition, in addition to arming it, and pressure the opening of safe routes for humanitarian aid and relief supplies to civilians trapped in Syria,\" said Tunisian Foreign Minister Rafiq Abdel-Salam.  
He added in statements to Saudi newspaper ‘Okaz’: “We do not wish that Syria be another Iraq, and we seek to resolve the issue according to the Arab initiative.”
“The conference will send a strong and tough message in this regard,” said Abdel-Salam, saying he hoped “the Syrian regime would listen and return to the right path”.
Critics have said that Tunisia\'s hosting of the conference was \"interference in  Syrian affairs\", while others see it as a step to internationalise the Syrian crisis aiming to support the armed groups with a foreign agenda.