US Secretary of State Antony Blinken told the Taliban on Wednesday that any legitimacy or support “will have to be earned” after Afghanistan's new rulers announced an interim government that drew a deeply sceptical Western response.

After consultations with partners on how to show a united front to the hardline new administration in Afghanistan, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken cautioned that the Taliban would have to earn legitimacy from the rest of the world.

"The Taliban seek international legitimacy. Any legitimacy — any support — will have to be earned, " Blinken told reporters at the US air base in Ramstein, Germany, after leading a 20-nation ministerial meeting on the Afghan crisis.

Standing beside him, German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas said the international community expected the Taliban to respect human rights, especially women's rights, to allow humanitarian supplies into the country, and to let individuals who wanted to leave to do so.

Maas stated that the talks on Wednesday were "the beginning point for international coordination" in dealing with the Taliban.

The virtual summit was attended by European allies as well as Pakistan, a long-time Taliban supporter.

Initial reactions showed that the new administration could have trouble gaining the international support that the new authorities so sorely need to prevent a financial crisis.

The interior minister is Sirajuddin Haqqani, who is wanted by the FBI for questioning.

The declaration came just hours after the Taliban shot their weapons into the air to disperse protestors in Kabul's capital and arrested several journalists, marking the second time in less than a week that harsh measures were employed to disperse a demonstration.

The US State Department expressed concern that the Cabinet consisted solely of Taliban, no women, and individuals with a questionable track record, but stated that the new administration's actions would be judged.

Maas stated that Germany is prepared to provide humanitarian aid through the United Nations and that it will continue to communicate with the Taliban in order to guarantee the departure of former employees and others from Afghanistan.

He went on to say that any commitment beyond that would be contingent on the Taliban's actions.