The IOC president Juan Antonio Samaranch is sure that the forthcoming anti-doping conference in Lausanne, Switzerland, can make giant strides in sport's battle against drugs.

But Samaranch recognised that without international co-operation the problem would be insurmountable and called for national federations to work to a single set of rules.

The IOC chief was quoted in Spain's El Pais newspaper yesterday as saying: "It's difficult to find a solution but we are convinced we can make enormous steps forward with the conference in Lausanne in February next year.

"The three most important things to take from this conference will be, firstly, a clear definition of what is doping, secondly, the creation of an anti-doping agency in Lausanne, which will be a great help to the international federations, and, thirdly, to set out exactly where governments are fighting and where sporting organisations are fighting.

"If we make progress on all three points I think the people who are still working in the world of drugs will find things going badly for them.

"The international federations, especially, must have the same order of sanctions, although there might be a scale of sanctions.

"Above all, the IOC medical code, accepted by all federations, is to demonstrate that the sporting world is united."

Samaranch said he was confident of future success in the battle against drugs but insisted there was only so much the IOC could do on its own.

"You have to take into account that we can only co-ordinate, we do not command. An international federation will not be ordered by the IOC.

"We are convinced that sport can exist without drugs and we don't only have the obligation to clean up sport to save the health of the athletes but also because drug use is a way of falsifying results - a trick - and that can't be accepted in sport.

"But I'm confident (about the conference in Lausanne). If not, we wouldn't be doing it."