WASHINGTON — Attorney General Jeff Sessions, whose contacts with Russia’s ambassador to the United States during the campaign have sparked questions, has agreed to appear Tuesday before the Senate committee investigating alleged Russian meddling in the election.

Sessions recused himself in March from a federal investigation into contacts between Russia and the campaign of President Trump after acknowledging he had met twice last year with the Russian ambassador to the United States.

He had told lawmakers at his January confirmation hearing that he had not met with Russians during the campaign.

Sessions said his decision Saturday to accept the Senate Intelligence Committee’s invitation to appear was due in part to last week’s Senate testimony by fired FBI director James B. Comey.

Sessions wrote that ‘‘it is important that I have an opportunity to address these matters in the appropriate forum.’’

Sessions has been dogged by questions about possible additional encounters with the ambassador, Sergey Kislyak. Senate Democrats have raised questions about whether the men met at an April 2016 foreign policy event in Washington.

The Justice Department has said that while Sessions was there, for a speech by Trump, there were no meetings or private encounters.

Comey raised additional questions Thursday, saying that the FBI expected Sessions to recuse himself weeks before he actually did.

In a letter Saturday to Senator Richard Shelby, Republican of Alabama, Sessions said that he had been scheduled to discuss the Justice Department budget before the House and Senate Appropriations subcommittees but that it had become clear some members would focus their questions on the Russia investigation.