Law on ratifying agreement between Russia and Finland on direct rail links 2016-04-05 20:45:00 Vladimir Putin signed the Federal Law On Ratifying the Agreement between the Government of the Russian Federation and the Government of the Republic of Finland on Direct Rail Links. The agreement was signed in St Petersburg on April 28, 2015. The agreement regulates direct international rail links between the Russian Federation and the Republic of Finland and defines common legal provisions. The intergovernmental agreement signed in Helsinki on April 16, 1996, currently in force, will be considered abrogated as from the date of the new agreement’s entry into force. A new agreement was needed due to railway transport reforms in Russia.