VIENNA, June 3 (Xinhua) -- Austrian President Alexander Van der Bellen said on Wednesday that the country will uphold multilateralism as a member of the United Nations (UN) Security Council.

Austria was elected non-permanent member to the UN Security Council on Wednesday for a two-year term, and will assume its seat on Jan. 1, 2027 and serve until Dec. 31, 2028.

"Austria will steadfastly advocate in the UN Security Council for multilateralism based on international law and human rights," Van der Bellen said on social platform X.

Calling for efforts to strengthen the UN, he warned that peaceful cooperation between countries are being threatened by "arbitrary exercise of power by the 'stronger' parties and ruthless, shortsighted interest politics."

In addition to Austria, Kyrgyzstan, Portugal, Trinidad and Tobago, and Zimbabwe were also elected non-permanent members on the same day. ■